


The Commander

by Hello_I_Exist



Series: Humans, Monsters, and the World They Know [2]
Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara ain't the villain, Mentioned W. D. Gaster, Narrator Chara (Undertale), Ness and his pals are minor characters, Papyrus (Undertale) Knows More Than He Lets On, Sans (Undertale) Doesn't Remember Resets, Undertale Saves and Resets, Ya'll're just mean, becoming a person, so is Frisk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 61,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hello_I_Exist/pseuds/Hello_I_Exist
Summary: The Masked Man awakens at the bottom of a hole after the Dark Dragon's desolation.They have nothing but their sword, their blaster, their duty, and a mysterious voice in their head.(The fic gets better as it goes on.)(Also on FF.Net!)
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Ness/Paula
Series: Humans, Monsters, and the World They Know [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967080
Comments: 11
Kudos: 38
Collections: The Fanfic Paradise Discord Collection





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very interesting take on a 'somebody falls in place of Frisk' Undertale crossover.
> 
> Mostly because Frisk is a character. Eventually.

_Lucas awoke to an endless void._

_There was nothing. Just him and the darkness._

_He didn't remember how long he stayed like that, until-_

**_What is your wish?_ **

_The voice was booming. All-encompassing. Endless._

_Yet Lucas wasn't afraid. Somehow, he knew exactly what it was._

_The Dragon he had gone so far to awaken._

_He spun to face it, and-_

_..._

_"Mom?"_

_The figure across from him was Hinawa, but at the same time, it wasn't. The red dress she had been buried in was replaced by a long, flowing green one, adorned with crystals of all colors. The way it was designed made the dress look as though it were made out of grass, blowing in the wind. Her eyes, usually a soft blue like his own, were instead a forest green, darker than Claus's wer- had been._

_"... You're not my mom, are you?"_

_The figure that had taken Hinawa's appearance smiled sadly._

**_You are far smarter than most. Indeed, I do look like the one called Hinawa. But, should anybody else had looked upon me, they would have seen the ones they called "mother" as well._ **

_Lucas nodded. That made sense, he supposed._

_But... "Why?"_

_"Hinawa" looked off into the distance._

**_Because I am the mother of all. The land, the sea, the clouds... I am-_ **

_"The earth itself," Lucas finished._

**_Perfect,_ ** _she said, looking genuinely proud of Lucas._

_He smiled a little._

_The smile was wiped off of his face. "What did you mean, earlier? A wish?"_

**_Yes. The one, deepest wish of your heart - at least that I can fulfill._ **

_"Any wish?"_

**_Within some reason, of course. I cannot resurrect those long dead, nor can I turn back time. But anything else-_ **

_"Would you laugh if I told you those are the only two things I want?"_

**_..._ ** **_I am not surprised. You have been through far too much for your young age._ **

_"... what else is there?"_

**_I believe your third deepest wish is for the safety of everybody you had once lived with, is that it?_ **

_"... Yeah."_

**_Then I believe I can fulfill that one. When you awaken, you shall find yourself and all your friends aboard the very same White Ship that brought you here._ **

_"Huh. I kind of wanted to see it, once Leder told me about it."_

**_Hopefully, you shall not be dissapointed._ **

_"... Earlier, you said something about not bringing dead people back. But you also said 'long dead?'"_

**_Your brother is... a special case. Technically, he had been dead for three years, but his body still walked until recently. So, theoretically, I could bring him back. But..._ **

_"... He would be a machine?"_

**_In both mind and matter._ **

_"..."_

**_Although._ **

_Lucas raised his head._

**_There could be a way to make him... at least somewhat human again._ **

_"Please. tell me and I'll do it."_

_**Calm yourself. It... is not guaranteed to work. And... having you there may only hurt, rather than help.** _

_Lucas winced._

**_He is more machine than man at this point. He will attack you immediately, and should he win, he will never forgive himself. Any tampering on his mind could end up damaging him permanently._ **

_"So, what are you doing?"_

**_I am sending him to another place, in the world the White Ship once left behind. A place untouched by man, but rather, by monster. If all goes well, then he should emerge himself, and having learned many things._ **

_"Do it."_

**_... No hesitation. Perhaps if you had known more... But alas, if that is your wish._ **

_"Please. I'll do anything to see him again."_

**_And so it shall be._ **

_And the world was filled with light._

> * * *

Chara opened their eyes.

Blink once. Blink twice.

"... What the heck?"

Turn around.

"What the _hell?_ _?_ "

Look down. See the human. Notice their own transparency.

"... What the actual fuck!?"


	2. Genocide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The REAL beginning.

* * *

**PART 1-1: RUINED**

* * *

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**MASKEDMAN.EXE ACTIVATED.**

**ACTIVATE STATUS CHECK...**

**12%**

**35%**

**71%**

**100%**

**STATUS CHECK COMPLETE.**

**AWAKENING**

* * *

The first thing you see upon waking up is the small dot of sunlight peeking through the cavern ceiling far above you.

None of it made sense. Weren't you just at base? Weren't you just being put back into Rest Mode after failing to defeat the other Wielder?

It didn't make sense...

Of course, a closer examination of your memory banks reveals far more. Many gaps and glitches are present. There is contradictory information, and very little context; and what you can remember is very blurry and confused.

All you know is that you failed another mission. How disappointing.

If you were capable of such, you would be worried for the state of your squads, but you cannot, so you do not.

***You're a terrible liar.**

Slowly, you stand up, and take stock of yourself. Your sword is picked up and placed back in its sheath, your helmet is readjusted, and your hand cannon is hung on its place on your waist.

***What exactly are you, anyway?**

Only one way to go, and that's forward.

***... Where am _I_? What's going on?**

* * *

Your reaction to Flowey is... absolutely nothing. Apparently you've seen weirder.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!"

***How observant of him.**

"Hmmm. You..."

Whatever question was in his nonexistent throat dies as he takes a better look at you.

Flowey frowns.

"...Huh. You're not... You're not a normal human, are you?"

His frown turns into a big, creepy, cheap horror-movie-esque, Human Skull-like face.

**"Well, This Just Made Things So Much More Interesting."**

***... What?**

His face turns normal again, this time, a knowing smirk on his face.

"I'd tell you about LOVE and such, but something tells me you don't really need to know, do you? After all, someone who doesn'twouldn't already have Six of it."

*** _You_ have a LOVE of Six? _You_??? You look like a strong wind could blow you over. Then again...**

Flowey goes thoughtful for a moment. Then, he smiles again. "Still, wouldn't hurt to see, would it?"

There is a tugging sensation on your chest, and...

There is a heart floating in front of your...

Your...

***What the hell _happened_ to you?**

What at one point may have been a full, strong, and brightly glowing, yellow and red heart-shaped SOUL is now shriveled-up and dim. 

***That's your SOUL.**

"That's your SOUL!"

***The very culmination of your being.**

"The very culmination of your being!"

***And yours is _not okay_.**

* * *

sans was _not okay._

Sure, the day started out fine. Pap woke him up with his usual volume, he ate some breakfast spaghetti, he bought some cinnamon bunnies afterwards to fill him up, and he traded puns with his door-buddy. 

Then, the promise came. He wasn't all that sure about it, but... well, it was hard to refuse her, and even if he didn't know her name...

Well, she enjoyed bad jokes, so that was really enough for him.

...

He really needed to raise his standards.

So, he was walking back to town, deep in thought, when suddenly, his phone played the *doo-doo-do!* that played whenever a notification hit it.

He opened the home screen and immediately started to panic.

Over _three thousand_ notifications- All of them from The Machine.

The end was nigh, and sans could do nothing about it.

...

Well, that wasn't exactly true.

In a very in-character move for him, sans, for lack of a better word, cheated.

He changed the room's exit to go to his machine room, entered, and viola! Shortcut.

The Machine, though still incapable of doing what it was supposed to, still functioned as as time-space anomaly tracker and recorder. It also allowed for connections to phones. His phone got a notification whenever a new journal entry from one of his previous selves came. It was, though necessary, not pleasant.

Especially when three thousand notifications came all at once.

So, he opened his notes, and began to read.

* * *

Flowey let you go after a brief spiel on how LOVE makes your SOUL stronger. It was... Informative. Though how he could know that when his own LOVE was just one - at least according to the CHECK I preformed - was beyond you.

***Or me.**

Well... Welcome to the RUINS.

The sight of the mysterious gateway looming above you fills you with Determination.

Yet you step forward dispassionately, as if you feel nothing at all.

You have to feel _something,_ though, right?

***Right?**

You enter the gateway, and- Oh! A Froggit! A large, white frog with a false face on its stomach.

***Life is tough for this-**

**Slash. Dust.**

... You win. You gained no gold and some EXP.

***... What was that for?**

You continue onwards.

You see two more Froggits. They're dust in seconds.

***... What _are_ you?**

You continue.

You encounter a Loox! Okay, these guys aren't your enemies. Just ignore him and walk away.

"Hey! Stop ignoring me!"

You turn around, stick your metal hand in your cannon, connect, and fire a single shot, instantly dusting the chimera.

***Okay. Trapped in the SOUL of a psychopathic robot. I can deal. I can deal.**

You continue forward, making sure to dust any chimeras in your way.

***Shouldn't your LOVE have increased by now?**

Ah! Right on cue. your LOVE increased to...

Seven.

Your LOVE actually _was_ already six when you got here, apparently.

Okay. Okay. Um. Um. I... Uh... Shit!

***Okay. Maybe-**

"Oh!"

...

***Mom?**

"I... Was not expecting... Well, greetings nonetheless! I am Toriel, caretaker of the RUINS."

***She hasn't aged a day.**

***What have I done?**

You stare at 'Toriel' for a few seconds. She's kneeling down to you, holding her paw out.

"I do hope you are alright. The Underground can be a dangerous place for humans."

You reach for your sword.

***STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP**

"Please, allow me to heal-"

**Slash.**

**-210765**

Toriel stares at you in shock and horror. You just walk away as she crumbles to dust, and as her SOUL breaks to pieces behind you.

...You won. Your LOVE increased to 8.

You don't even look back once.

You keep moving, making sure to hunt down every rouge Chimera in the RUINS.

***They're called Monsters, they're not-**

You enter the small cottage at the end of the Ruins.

You check for Chimeras, find none, and move on to the basement.

There's a door.

You try to open it, but it doesn't budge.

You step back.

Your hands begin to glow white, before you swing them forwards.

You tried PK Love Ω.

The door was nothing but crumbling pieces of stone when you were done.

You step through the empty doorway, into the snowy field beyond.

* * *

**PART 1-2: FROZEN IN TIME**

* * *

**BOOTING VOICE LOGS...**

**RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: 7**

_hey. uh. this is sans. past sans, that is. or... future sans? could-have-been sans? eh, i dunno. either way, we've decided to keep an inter-timeline journal. so. yeah. this's a thing._

_aaaaanyway, i'm writing this- or, rather, a text-to-speech bot it writing what i'm saying- to make sure that other sans-es will actually do this too because i guess we tried it for the previous anchor but the system was shit and all that's left are some reports babbling about a flower. so. yeah. can't have that happen again._

_where was i? right. seven Load Events have happened so far, and the anchor appears to be inside the Ruins. working theory is that it's a human. not sure how to feel about it if it is. i'll keep watch, update using the phone._

* * *

You step out into the snow. For a moment you think you're free- but you look up and see only the cavern ceiling.

* * *

**RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: 9**

_so. other-me was right. mostly. the one that came out of the ruins was a human, but instead of a soldier or something like i was expecting, it was a kid. an honest-to-god eight year old kid. gonna go find out more. report later._

* * *

You're walking down the long, foresty road.

The massive branch behind you snaps.

You don't react.

* * *

**RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: 10**

_so. i have good news and bad news. the good news is that the kid isn't a murdering psychopath. it also seems i was right, labelling this as the first run. the kid didn't know i was there 'til i revealed myself. they also reacted negative to the whoopee-cushion handshake test._

_..._

_okay, fine, that wasn't actually a test. even if it should be._

_anyway. the bad news is that the kid has absolutely no self-preservation instinct. pretty sure they got killed trying to pet doggo._

_so that's a thing, i guess. anyway, from what i can observe, the kid only hurts people-or kills- in self-defense. they also have temper issues, and get panic attacks quite easily._

_they're also really, really determined. they spent three hours trying to get the red flag in Ball. afterwards, they had enough money to buy my fried snow. except not really, because i raised the price on them. they got mad and tried to punch me. i dodged, luckily. the kid stomped away angrily. i've never seen a reaction to my jokes this bad since papyrus._

_i like the kid. they seem nice enough. hopefully they'll stay that way._

_i'll report later if anything big happens. sans out._

* * *

**"H u m a n ."**

You don't react.

**"D o n ' t y o u k n o w h o w t o g r e e t a n e w p a l ?"**

You reach for your sword.

**"T u r n a r o u** nd-!"

You spin around and swing...

**MISS**

But Nobody Came.

***This is definitely something Old Man Serif would do. Maybe I haven't been dead as long as I thought?**

You turn again, ready to get back on track...

"hey. you interrupted me. that's rude."

***Nevermind I have no idea who this is.**

* * *

**FRISK #13(?) - RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: 0**

_a completely different kid came out of the ruins today. according to other reports, they're three days before schedule. frisk is probably still out there on the surface, doing whatever they did the three days before they fell._

_anyway, the new kid. they attacked me pretty much as soon as i revealed myself. The Machine's not reporting any LEs so i doubt that he knew i was coming. oh, yeah, that's a pretty rare thing; confirmed gender._

_anyway, i'll do my best to get Pap out of danger, but knowing him, and according to my other reports, he'll probably still go out there and... well, if anybody can change that kid, it's Pap._

_ugh. i really feel out of it today. Pap mentioned something similar earlier, now that i think about it._

_heh. he was so excited to meet frisk "for the first time" again. he's gonna be so disappointed when he sees a completely different kid._

_or maybe he won't be. i can never predict him._

_sans out._

* * *

The short and stout skeleton stands before you.

You say nothing. The skeleton winks.

***I immediately hate him.**

"what's wrong? chilled to the _bone?_ too spooked to move on? that's fine. i've been told i have that effect on people."

No response from you.

"so. how's your day been? mine's been kinda mediocre, actually. it started good. then it got bad. you know. life."

He winks again. He seems to like winking.

"anyway, 'sup? name's sans. sans the skeleton."

Your previously loose body freezes up.

You equip out your cannon and open fire on-

Er, where sans had been a second ago?

You glance around. He must be fast. Or maybe he can teleport...

***...Though I've never heard of a monster that can teleport before.**

* * *

Papyrus was great at many things. A great friend, a great Royal-Guardsman in training, and especially a great brother!

So, of course he should've been great at predicting sans, right? Well, turns out he wasn't, because instead of waiting for somebody else to call an evacuation, he did it himself! Papyrus was so proud of him!

Sure, it was sad that a lot of monsters were dead. But! Thinking about it would make him sad, so he didn't, and instead focused on the important things, like helping everyone else evacuate! He was helping so many people and made so many new friends!

Then, it ended, and suddenly, sans and Papyrus were the only two Monsters in Snowdin.

But soon, a third person would be there, and they could become friends! Even if sans didn't think so!

So, at first, he didn't listen to sans. He could change them (again,) he knew!

Then sans pulled out the photos.

"okay, look, pap? you remember how the human is always some variation of frisk?"

"YES?"

"well this time it's not."

He knew sans was trying to lure him away. But NO! He would make friends with the human, convince them to bring everyone else back, and then he could capture them and everyone would live happily ever after!

"pap, the new kid is... i don't think he's even fully _alive._ "

"NONSENSE! ALL LIVING BEINGS ARE EITHER LIVING OR NOT! IT MAKES NO SENSE-"

"the kid's half robot."

Now _that_ got his attention.

"YOU MEAN LIKE METTATON!?!? WOWIE!!!"

"pap, he's not like mettaton. i mean... it's like he can't feel emotion. at all."

"WELL, THAT IS SIMPLY SAD!! BUT I AM SURE THE GREAT" (he made sure to roll the R as much as possible) "PAPYRUS CAN SPARK SOMETHING!! FOR I AM THE BEST AT MAKING PEOPLE FEEL ALL THE THINGS!!"

Slowly, his face falls a little.

"...AFTER ALL, I CONVINCED THE FRISKS TO STOP BEFORE, RIGHT?"

sans stared at him. Papyrus saw a range of emotions flit over his face: despair, anger, hope, confusion; but most of all, pride. He was proud.

Papyrus's trademark smile snapped back into place, and his scarf fluttering in a conjured wind.

"... i really don't want you to go."

"I KNOW. BUT I HAVE TO AT LEAST TRY."

sans nodded. he understood that feeling.

For a while, nobody moved. Until Papyrus stepped forward, hands spread wide.

sans reciprocated eagerly.

"...see ya soon, pap."

"AND YOU AS WELL, SANS."

It was a while before the hug broke up.

* * *

You had never realized before just how vulnerable you were to low temperatures.

The blizzard howled. You can't feel the fingers of your organic hand. You can feel the joints of your robotic one seizing up.

But you stay Determined. You have a mission, and you're going to finish it.

After all, it's your purpose of existence, right?

You continue, until-

"HUMAN."

You stop. Somebody else is here.

You draw your sword and equip your cannon.

"ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS."

You fire in the direction the voice is coming from. The shot misses completely.

"THE FEELING OF... LONELINESS. BEING ONE OF THE TWO INHABITANTS OF A ONCE-LIVELY TOWN."

The voice is coming from a completely different direction. You fire again.

Miss.

"THE FEELING OF ANGER. AT SOMEBODY HURTING THOSE YOU CONSIDER YOUR FRIENDS, EVEN IF THEY DO NOT CONSIDER YOU THEIRS IN RETURN."

Shoot. Miss.

"THE FEELING OF PAIN, AT WATCHING SOMEBODY HURT THEMSELVES AS THEY TRY TO HURT OTHERS."

Shoot. Miss.

"AND, ABOVE ALL ELSE..."

Shoot. Rapid fire in all directions, you don't care anymore, just _hit one goddamn shot-_

"THE FEELING OF HOPE. KNOWING IT CAN ALL BE FIXED."

The voice it right behind you. You spin around. It's another skeleton- a tall one at that. He's wearing-

No. It doesn't matter.

"HUMAN. I CAN TELL, JUST BY LOOKING AT YOU. SOMEBODY HAS HURT YOU."

***Lots of people have hurt us both. It doesn't matter anymore.**

"I CAN SEE YOU LASHING OUT IN PAIN. SO, NOW, I OFFER YOU THIS."

The skeleton holds his arms out as if asking for a hug.

No, wait. He _is_ asking for one.

"PLEASE. YOU ARE MORE THAN A ROBOT."

You freeze. How does he know?

For a while, there is only the sound of the howling blizzard.

You raise your sword- And hesitate.

You lunge forward and drive your sword through the Skeleton's lightly armored chest.

**-1570**

The blizzard stops. Was the skeleton _making_ the blizzard?

The skeleton stares you in the eyes. He's smiling sadly.

"VERY... WELL. I AM SORRY I FAILED YOU."

Even as he's falling apart, he wraps his arms around you.

"BUT KNOW THIS... YOU ALWAYS HAVE THAT CHOICE."

Your breath hitches.

"GOOD LUCK... MY F R I E N D

He's dust.

You won. Your LOVE increased from 11 to 13.

You stand up and look to the cavern ceiling.

You scream at the heavens. You're not sure shy.

Your face is wet. Why?

You sit there in the snow for a while as the flurry that had been kicked up by the artificial blizzard slowly falls to the ground.

...

What will you do?

...

You're shaking even as you pick up your sword, and continue on your way.

There is nothing else. There is only you and your purpose.

And, even if you're not sure what it is anymore...

You are determined to fulfill it.

...

Perhaps, when you get back, you will ask the scientists why they created you.

And maybe Lucas knows somewhat, too. You do look pretty similar. Perhaps he's like you, but gone rouge? You aren't the first edition, but you are the first who "worked." You had always assumed that meant the others had never activated, or did, but couldn't follow orders correctly. You have a new theory now.

...

Perhaps you could turn Lucas back instead of killing him?

Yeah. Yeah, you could ask. And maybe he'd say yes.

But that's then. This is now.

Right now, you have a duty.

You're not entirely sure if you want to fulfill it.

* * *

**PART 1-3: THE WATERFALL**

* * *

Waterfall is, objectively, pretty.

The crystals growing from the walls, the (literally) glowing blue waters, and the fields of light blue flowers spreading off into the incomprehensible distance...

That is not to say you actually _do_ find it pretty. You cannot find things pretty. It is impossible.

...

You stare at some of the scenery anyway, despite how absolutely non-pretty you find it.

You definitely _do not_ enjoy staring at the grand view of the castle in the distance. You do _not_. Find it _pretty._

***You just keep lying to yourself. I'll be here to narrate the whoooole thing.**

But the view cannot stop your mission. You keep moving, hunting Chimeras ( ***god, I'm done trying to convince you of anything** ) all the while.

In other news, you have a strange lizard-like child following you around. So. That's a thing, you suppose.

***Although, I am curious as to why you haven't killed them yet. Free EXP, and everything.**

Their voice sounds detached. Like they're trying their hardest not to show emotion.

You shrug and continue on. _They are not a threat, But rather, an assistance. So long as I hunt while they are away, they will continue to be of assistance._

***I didn't realize you had a brain for strategy in there.**

_I am meant to,_ you say to me. _I am not just an assassin, or a hunter. I am also a Commander. I am third in the chain of command of the Pigmask army._

Before I can comment on that, the Chimera speaks up.

"So, dude. Were you evacuating too?"

"Evacuating?" You ask. It's not conversation. It's gathering information. Nothing more.

"Yeah! So, you know those skeleton brothers from Snowdin? Yeah, one of them called an evacuation 'cause there was an evil human going around and doing evil human things."

An evil _Human_? Hm. You'll have to keep on watch for that.

***Oh my god there is no way you can actually be this dense.**

"So! I went off to find Undyne, cause I knew she could protect everyone! Now, I'm. Uh. Completely lost! But that's fine, 'cause now we're lost together! Which means we're both only half as lost!"

The Chimera frowns. "Or are we double lost? I dunno. But anyway!"

Their train of thought seems to continue like that for a while, hopping between random subjects.

It could be called nice. But it's not. Not to you.

You are incapable of calling things nice. Right? Right.

"Ahem."

You both freeze - though, I suspect for different reasons.

You turn around.

Undyne.

She's standing in front of you two.

_She knows the other's with me she thinks they're with me get the other to safety RUN_

"And what, exactly, do you two think you're doing?"

And, suddenly, you're not in the Underground anymore.

* * *

_"Operation: Sheep Riding is a-go!"_

_The laughter of the two children could barely be heard over the bleating of the sheep. To an outside observer, at first glance, the children would look to be in danger - but, upon closer exanimation, the theoretical observer would see the sheer joy on their faces and immediately smile themselves as they watched the two boys straddle themselves upon two panicking sheep._

_Of course, this theoretical observer wasn't just theoretical. She was tall, wore a red dress, and had dirty blonde hair. She was struggling not to smile._

_Eventually, however, the fun had to end._

_She stepped forward and spoke-_

* * *

-And You!"

Undyne's loud shout shocks you out of your malfunction.

You stand at attention, staring into Undyne's stomach area because that's how tall you are compared to her.

"... Hm. You keep this kid safe, you understand?"

You're not sure what to say to that, so you just nod.

She doesn't seem to know who - or what - you are. You count yourself lucky. Less to deal with, though it'll be annoying to hunt her down later.

...

No. Not her. It.

...

Eh. Just saying "Her" is easier.

The two of them were silent as Undyne left, presumably to continue her search for that evil human.

***Idiot.**

Once Undyne was gone, the Chimera spun around, stared at him, and said:

"Oh. Ehm. Gee. I... Didn't just hallucinate that, right?"

... You shake your head.

"Undyne just... She just... I JUST SPOKE WITH UNDYNE THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE-"

"Quiet! Do you want everyone to hear you?"

You blink. You didn't say that. But it came out of your mouth?

***You're welcome.**

_You can take control of me._

***Well, yeah.**

Your thoughts are interrupted by the response of The Chimera Kid.

"Oh! Yeah. We... probably should be quiet."

You stare at the ground.

"...Go find Undyne."

"Wha-"

"You're safer with her."

You don't know why you're doing this. It feels wrong.

But...

...

"But... She told you-"

"Just... go. Please."

The Kid looks hurt.

_Please,_ you plead internally.

They purse their lips and nod.

They run in the direction she left in.

The Kid looks back once, and then they're gone.

You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

***Why did you do that?**

You're not sure yourself.

You draw your sword and get back to your task.

* * *

_Neither The Commander nor the spirit with them are aware of the single eyed monster watching them through the metal grate of a helmet._

* * *

Shoot. Hit. Dust.

You won.

Slash. Dust.

You got some gold.

PSI Love β. Crash. Multiple dustings.

Your Love increased.

You repeat this ritual for... You're not sure how long. 

You're just lucky Undyne isn't constantly at your back-

***STOP**

You stop. An energy spear flies past your face. If you hadn't stopped, you would be dead.

***Again. You're welcome.**

Where before had been a... Not quite _leisurely_ stroll through Waterfall, now you were running for your life.

Now that you know the spears are coming, however, you can avoid them.

They come in waves, typically three at a time. The first two try to trap you in while the third would be what finishes you off- But not only are you smarter than that, you're also faster- Every spear is expertly ducked, dodged, or avoided in some way- you know you're home free when you see the grass- in there, she'd have no choice but to enter close combat.

You dive in. When she starts searching, you'll hit her with a point blank, powerful PSI attack.

It's a good plan. But there's someone in there with you.

They haven't noticed you. You definitely noticed them.

Undyne does too. As she wades though the grass, you prepare to attack-

"Hey Undyne!!!"

But the Chimera Kid stops you.

Undyne stares at the Kid for a while, sighs in what sounds like relief, and flips up her visor.

"How are you still alive? Actually, no. You're coming with me. NOW."

You flinch at her tone.

"I mean- okay, that's actually why I'm here?"

She blinks. "What?"

"Okay, so, you know that monster you left me with? The one with the helmet?"

Undyne grows visibly more agitated at that comment.

"Yes. I do, in fact know them."

"Okay, after you left us, I guess he got cold feet or something, 'cause he told me to go find you? Said I'd be safer with you."

Undyne seems absolutely stunned at this. Slowly, she kneels down and puts her hand on the Kid's shoulders.

"Look, uh... Kid. I don't know how to say this, but... That friend I left you with... They were the Human I was talking about, and, like an absolute _idiot,_ I left you with them because I didn't recognize them."

No.

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

You're not evil, you're a good guy, you're fighting to _save_ people, you can't- you can't-

It had to be so. You _had_ to be the good guy. That's what everybody'd been telling you your whole life.

You weren't a bad person. You weren't. You weren't.

You couldn't be.

* * *

**PART 1-4: TRUE HEROINE**

* * *

"H-Hey!"

"Man, I'm glad I could catch up with you. You're fast, you know, heh."

"... So. Uh. Undyne... Told me some things, earlier. And! I'm not saying I believe her! But..."

"..."

"She... She said you were human. And... That you did some really bad things."

"But, Yo! That can't be true, right?"

"...Right?"

"... Hey. Come on, man! Say something!"

"..."

You can't look them in the eye.

"... Oh. Oh no."

You clench your fists. You turn to walk away-

And, suddenly, they're in your way.

"...Move."

"No."

"I said _move._ "

"I-If you wanna hurt anybody else..."

No.

"Y-You're g-g-gonna have to get t-through _me._ "

No.

No. No. Please no.

You had wanted to stall this as long as possible, make it instant and painless when the time came- but this was. Was the worst possible thing.

You raise your hand cannon.

Your hand is shaking.

~~Your Friend~~ The Chimera is staring you in the eyes.

Your hand is shaking.

~~Lucas stands across from you.~~

Your hand is still shaking.

They're still staring at you.

"NO!!"

Undyne lands between you- you panic- you swing your sword-

**-26531**

Undyne stares at you, shock in her expression.

~~Your friend~~ the Chimera child stares at Undyne.

"Get out of here," she croaks.

"But-!"

"Just GO. NOW."

The kid takes one last glance at you and flees to somewhere beyond this battle.

Because that's what this was about to become, wasn't it?

"Heh... Gonna be honest- Urk- That's not exactly what I was expecting."

Her torso was cut clean in two and she's _still standing-_

"Papyrus... Asgore... Alphys..."

...

"I'm s o r r y 

But it refused.

"...No."

***...What's going on?**

"My body... It feels like it's splitting apart. Like... I'll scatter into a million pieces any instant."

...

"But. Deep, deep in my SOUL."

... She can't have a soul. Chimeras are soulless.

***You're not.**

"There's this... This burning hot _feeling_ that's impossible to describe."

"A feeling that _refuses_ to let me die."

***...We need to run.**

_What? Why?_

"This was never about monsters, was it?"

...

"Don't think I didn't hear you. You talk, like somebody is listening. You talk about some _mission_ you have."

She raises her head and looks you in the eye- and, somehow, impossibly, her massive _fatal_ wound begins to heal.

"But I bet even _you_ don't know what it is anymore, do you?"

"In the name of everybody you've hurt... I will, finally, Put You Down. Because, right now? I can feel the will of everyone in the world- Hell, maybe even the world itself."

"And everybody is united in one goal."

"To defeat YOU."

You're shaking.

"Human- no. Demon!"

You hear me take a sharp intake of breath.

"I, Undyne, will STRIKE YOU DOWN."

***Now would be a very good time to tell you? I can turn back time.**

_...What._

***So. Uh. Yeah. I just SAVED, and she's killed you fifty-seven times already.**

_What._

The world is filled with light. You close your eyes to prevent premature blindness.

It fades, and you open your eyes.

If somebody were to tell you the being in front of you wielded the power of the Earth itself, you would not be surprised in the least.

The oppressing _power_ and _weight_ of the magic around you makes you shudder.

Or maybe that's just Undyne, who had gained a good foot of height. Her eyepatch seemed to have burned away, leaving only an empty- no, _burned_ patch of skin.

Light poured from the wound.

Smells like Determination.

Undyne attacks. Three spears travel towards you at a leisurely pace.

You sidestep them easily. You were confused. Wasn't she supposed to be-

***Heads up.**

The spears came at an alarmingly fast rate- you couldn't dodge them all- every spear that pierced you felt like you had been hit by a freaking bullet- but you see an opening, and you run in and attack- about 2000 damage, still only chip damage- Undyne retaliates- you don't see what hits you- but you're sent flying.

You land harshly against a wall of rock. You fall to the ground.

***Don't try to get up, roll to the left instead.**

You follow my instructions and manage to avoid a quadruped of spears landing where you had just been.

You raise your cannon and open fire- about 500 each- but Undyne doesn't even flinch- she throws a hand forward, and with it, a nearly undodgeable cloud of spears.

_What_ _next?_

***I don't know, I've never gotten past this.**

You growl. Think, Think! What do you have-

Oh. Right.

PSI Shield Ω, because you don't care if you're the only one there, you still want your strongest shield.

You brace yourself for the spears- every hit on the shield feels like another nail is being driven into your skull-

But the shield holds.

The spears stop coming, the shield falls, and Undyne looks completely stunned.

**-8051**

Her HP falls by a solid third. You reflected the spears back! You had forgotten in your rush what the omega level did.

Undyne's stunned look turns into a shark-like grin.

"Guess you still have some fight left after all."

When will she run out of PP!?

***Uh. I hate to tell you this, but... she ain't psychic. Not like you. She can do this pretty much as long as she wants - or at least until she runs out of HP.**

Now that's just unfair.

Well. Two can play at that game.

You spin around and rush over to a large pile of boulders- they look like they'd been suplexed- and hide behind it- you reach deep into your pockets- there!

You unwrap the PSI caramel and eat it.

You feel your psychic abilities returning to you - and, not only that, they feel _supercharged_.

The boulder blasts apart, but you're ready, and the shrapnel bounces off your shield.

Lifeup. Healing. Offense and Defense up. Speed up.

Undyne's grin falls a little when she sees you standing- not just fine, but _confident._

You get into a runner's stance. You dash forward with inhuman speed.

The real battle begins. File SAVED.

Your first strike deals exactly 3234 damage. With an instinct that had been asleep this whole time, only awaked with your DETERMINATION, you see an image of yourself being pierced with spears from the right.

You dodge perfectly. You leap back, and fire seven shots. 4521 damage total. Halfway there.

Undyne wasn't having it, though, and fires back with a field of spears coming _out of the ground_ -

You jump into the air. You grab your own feet with PSI and throw yourself upwards, giving enough time for the spears to dissipate before you land.

Dodged.

This was familiar. The fighting, the dodging, the acrobatics- it's all instinct. There is no doubt. No thought. Just you and your opponent.

For the first time since you fell, your head is clear.

Undyne stares at you. Her expression turns to anger and disbelief. "What the hell even _are_ you!?"

You think for a moment, before:

"I don't even know anymore. But that's fine.

I'm not meant to question it anyway."

You lunge forward, carving a massive gash in the armor. 5720. Three-Quarters.

The next wave is...

...

Well. That's. Uh. Not good.

_Keep an eye on my back._

***What?**

But you're already running forward. You're facing danger - and the hailstorm of spears - head-on.

DETERMINATION. File SAVED.

You clear your head of everything but instinct.

Left, right, roll, lunge, backstep, guard, leap, stop, parry, block, jump, sidestep, reflect, lunge, stop, lunge again, feint right, go left, roll, leap back.

Timelines are converging on you. You can't count the number of times you see yourself die in that storm.

Parry, Parry, shoot, 751, she flinches, the spears stall, you lunge forward, and _stab._

**-11207.**

What's left of her HP is completely decimated.

You've won. You've won You've won You've won You've won You've won You've won You've won YOU'VE WON

"So... Even that power... It wasn't enough...?"

... Oh. Right. You were trying to kill her.

"...Heh. If you think... I'm gonna give up hope? Just 'cause I've lost this fight?"

...

"No. I'm _not_."

... Undyne is melting. She's _melting._

"You see... I've got something... Something you _don't_."

She's starting to dust a little.

"I've got my... I've got my friends behind me."

Undyne stands a little taller, even as she's collapsing.

"Alphys has been watching us fight, you know. By now, she'll have called Asgore. He'll... He'll have absorbed the SOULs by now. And... with that power..."

Undyne is smiling.

"This world... will... live on!"

Undyne collapses into a pile of powder, armor and all. Most of those killed left their clothes or armor behind. But not her. She had _fused_ with her freaking _armor._

***So that's how she was so sturdy...**

You stare at the dust that used to be Undyne.

***Well. I think I know what we're doing next.**

You continue forward, not fully paying attention. You're lost in thought.

Why- no, _how_ could she care so much?

She was _soulless._ She... She couldn't...

...

Was she really?

***And does it matter? You have your mission. I have mine.**

You stop. _You've never_ _mentioned a mission of your own before._

***I haven't.**

There was no more conversation.

* * *

**PART 1-5: OUT OF THE FRYING PAN**

* * *

***Hotland SUUUUUCKS!!!**

You would be inclined to agree if you could have opinions.

***Oh, shut up.**

Even though you feel like you could pass out from exhaustion any second, you keep moving.

You almost cry ***but not really 'cause it's a figure of speech** when you see the Lab building. Buildings mean air conditioning!

The doors open automatically. Cool air washes over you, and you totally don't let out a sigh of relief.

The lights inside the lab are off. You flip a light switch from across the room with PSI.

There's a robot in the room.

**"WELL, WELL, WELL."**

Okay, then.

You point two fingers forward.

**"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU, DARLING-"**

PK Love Ω.

The robot is scrap metal in seconds.

...

_Do you think we should have listened?_

***Nah. I'm sure he had nothing important to say.**

***Welp. Happy hunting!**

You frown. I had definitely not been acting like this before.

***No, I hadn't.**

...

_You're deflecting._

***Yes, I am.**

How I was acting _definitely_ wasn't frustrating and you _totally_ didn't want to scream and/or punch something.

* * *

Chimera hunting had only gotten easier.

Where before, in Waterfall, sometimes it took multiple hits to bring down a foe, every Chimera in Hotland fell in a single strike. Of course, the further you got along, the more Chimeras there were to hunt.

But that was a small problem.

***Besides, the more LOVE, the better, right?**

_What is it with you and LOVE? Why is it capitalized?_

***Were you not paying attention to Flowey?**

_...Who?_

***... Well then.**

I proceed to explain the mechanics of LOVE and EXP to you.

***You see, LOVE can be gained through murder or willing torture. EXP can be gained _only_ through murder. So, the two are not mutually exclusive.**

_That seems overly complicated,_ you say as you stealthily shoot a volcano-looking Chimera.

***Speaking of which, your LOVE increased to 19. Good job.**

_What was it at Undyne?_

***Went up to 15. Lots left to find. I suspect you'll be at about 23 once you've cleared the underground.**

* * *

***You know, these de-activated puzzles kind of make this place kind of... creepy? Like. You know. Abandoned.**

_That's because it is. You know, you've been talkative lately._

***Well, so have you.**

...

***Was it something I said?**

* * *

You won. Your LOVE increased to 20.

You unlocked the ability "One-Hit KO!" all ~~monsters~~ foes hit will instantly be killed, and damage no longer plays a part!

***I** _n_ **t** _e_ **r** _e_ **s** _t_ **i** _n_ **g** _._

* * *

The CORE is massive and dangerous, but, for some reason, it's not hot.

Indeed, the heat of Hotland seems to be incapable of reaching into the massive mechanical nightmare.

But, in the end, the real threat were the Chimeras.

They'd gotten _really_ strong. Even if they dusted in one hit, they still came in groups, so the eternal struggle came up again:

_Do I use my PP to heal? Or to attack?_

It was difficult to decide which was more efficient. So, you came to a decision.

_PSI attack at three. Melee attack if two or one._

Your Chimera Hunting sped up dramatically at that decision.

You reached the hallway to the capitol.

There is a large platform, seemingly set aside for something.

***Do you feel like something should have happened here?**

_Yes._

***What do you think it would've been?**

_Chances are? That robot from earlier._

***Ah, yes. He did seem to have a flair for dramatics.**

* * *

**PART 1-6: THE DEMON**

* * *

The Capital was empty.

It didn't surprise you. Everyone was evacuated, right?

You continue forward until...

...

You find a house next to the castle. It seems to be the only entryway from your direction.

You walk in and are filled with a nostalgia that is not yours.

***...Allow me to tell you a story. Oh, and he keeps the keys to that lock in the kitchen and the garden.**

...

***Once upon a time, a young human child was born to a high-status family.**

***It should have been a happy occasion. But it wasn't.**

***The child was born with pale skin and red eyes.**

***In the end, nobody was happy.**

***Many years passed. The child was ostracized. Nobody was allowed to talk to them or even reference their existence.**

_That's terrible._

***That's humanity.**

You enter The Room.

Two present boxes sit on the floor.

In the first is a knife. It's meant to be a gardening knife, but that sharp edge could be used for... less than recreational uses.

Your sword is better, but you pocket the knife anyway.

Could be useful.

The other box has...

You put the locket back. I pat it lightly with your hand.

Once you leave the room, I continue the story.

***One day, the child found an old woman, similar to them. The old woman had pale skin and red eyes, just like the child.**

...

***The old woman gave the child many gifts. The knowledge of how to survive. The shelter of a place to hide from the rain. And the knife to cut down anybody in their way.**

You glance down at your pocket.

***I** **n thanks, t** **he child helped the old woman. They brought her food and water when she was too weak to move. They gave her little gifts to show their care.**

...

***It wasn't love. But it was enough.**

...

***Then, one day, no matter how hard the child tried, they could not wake the old woman up. The woman's eyes had lost their shine, their determination, and her hands were cold and clammy.**

***The child understood death. They did not want to accept it. But they did.**

***So, for years, with the knowledge of how to survive, they lived a half-life- not truly living, but not really dead.**

***Then, one day, The Bad Man came.**

***He tried to do... things. But the child refused to accept it.**

***One second, the man was healthy and alive.**

***The next, he was cold on the ground, covered in stab wounds.**

***The demon had struck.**

***Led by the child's own parents, the townsfolk hunted them down. They did not care what The Bad Man was trying to do.**

***And so, the child-turned-demon ran.**

***They disappeared.**

***Legend says all who climb Mt. Ebott disappear because the Demon That Comes When Their Name Is Called has claimed their soul.**

***That legend did not exist in the child's time. All they cared about was running away.**

***Legend says that, one day, the demon will return and claim the souls of all humanity.**

***Of course, to most, it's a simple bedtime story.**

***But it's about to become true.**

You unlock the locks with the keys you had gathered while listening to the story and continue down the stairs.

***But that's then. This is now.**

***And now...**

***You have a mission. I won't stop you.**

***Call me if you need me.**

The self-proclaimed demon retreats.

You walk down the long, long balcony.

You're about to enter a building, when something pops out of the floor.

"Howdy!"

Ah. This must be the 'Flowey' you had forgotten about.

He's wearing an extremely fake-looking smile.

"Long time no see, huh?"

You suppose so.

"So! I came here to ask you a bit of a question? 'Cause there's something about you I don't really... get."

His face turns frustrated. There's the real emotion.

"I don't like _not getting people_."

Confusion.

"What's your plan, anyhow? Like, I see you killing everybody, and yeah, that's cool and everything, but then you start _crying_? Like, what the heck!?"

Anger.

"And then you almost spare that random kid? What's up with you?"

Thoughtfulness.

"...Or maybe...?"

He stares at you for a few seconds. For a moment, there's something like hope in his eyes?

But it's dashed away almost as quickly.

"...Nah. You can't be _them_. _Nobody_ could ever replace _them_ ," he says mostly to himself.

***What the hell is up with him?**

"But I know what you _can_ be."

He's grinning, now. There's nothing happy about it.

"I know you wanna head back to the surface, right?"

You nod.

"Well, take me with you! I have some... _Unfinished_ _business_ to tend to."

***Well that's not creepy at all.**

"So! Whaddaya say?"

"No." There's no hesitation in your voice.

"...Wait, what?"

"I said no. I know what you plan to do, and I can't let you."

He blinks. "What the hell are you talking about _now?_ "

"You wish to kill humans."

"Well, duh!"

"That is against my mission plan. I am a hunter. Not a serial killer."

***Are you sure about that?**

_Honestly? No. But Flowey doesn't need to know that._

Flowey's face falls further, somehow. Then, he gets angry.

"Well, what the hell are you doing down here then?!"

You take a moment to think, before:

"I am here to serve the Pigmask Empire and all those who live in it. And you threaten them. Therefore..."

You spin around and shoot Flowey in the face.

You won. You got some EXP.

There is nothing left but a golden flower with a massive, charred hole in the center.

You wait for him to dust, and to gain EXP...

But nothing happens.

You shrug and move on.

* * *

**PART 1-7: JUDGEMENT DAY**

* * *

The short and stout skeleton (named sans) stands before you.

You say nothing. The skeleton winks.

***This feels very familiar.**

Unlike last time, the skeleton looks... Tired, if you could call him anything.

"heya."

He looks like he's given up.

"you've been busy, haven't you?"

But, clearly, he hasn't.

***This guy's an idiot.**

"so. i've got a bit of a question for ya."

...

"do you think that everyone deserves a second chance? that, if given another opportunity, they could do something better then they did before?"

...

"...heh. yeah, i didn't expect you to answer. you're... not really the talkative type, are you?"

* * *

_"Lucas isn't really the talkative type. He's... shy, for lack of a better word. But... When he's with his brother? He opens up so much. It's like he's a completely different person. I think the two of them complete each other."_

* * *

You're snapped out of your malfunction by sans saying something else.

"... i've noticed a lot of things about you. so did papyrus, too. he's always been more observant than me. or... he was, at least."

You feel a spike of pain in your chest. It's not physical.

"...yeah. i see that expression. you regret it, don't you?"

You can guess who 'Papyrus' is. It hurts to know.

"well. if you do, then..."

His eyelights go out. It's... scary.

**"Why haven't you brought him back, then?"**

You blink. You could do that?

sans blinks and his eyelights return.

"...you didn't know?"

"..."

"...huh. was not expcting that. okay. well. uh. now that you know."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...so. uh. why we still here?"

"Sans."

He blinks in surprise to you using his name.

"You know I can't do that."

sans blinks before sighing in disappointment.

"...yeah. honestly, i expected that."

The attack comes out of nowhere. One second, everything is still.

The next, it's chaos.

Bones are flying everywhere- beams of light are shooting past you- it takes everything you have to dodge- there are bones rising from the floor and falling from the ceiling and there are massive blasters shooting beams of light and you're barely managing to avoid them-

And then it's over.

You're breathing heavily.

sans sighs. He looks no different.

"that doesn't mean it isn't still disappointing."

You get hit by a bone that snuck up on you from behind. You dodge, but not fast enough.

It fazes through your arm.

* * *

_You spin around and shoot Flowey in the face-_

* * *

Your face is on fire.

You're screaming in pain.

And then, it stops.

You're on your knees on the ground.

You look up at sans.

He's smiling, but he's not even remotely happy.

"you feel that? you wanna know what's killing you now?"

...

"everybody you hurt. every bad thing you've done.

_that's_ what's killing you right now."

You can't breathe.

"heh. karma's a bitch, ain't it?"

You scream and dash forward. You swing your sword-

**MISS**

-But he's not there.

You spin around. He's behind you.

He's smirking. He winks.

"what? you really think i'm just gonna stand there and take it? nah, sorry, kid. i'm smarter than that."

***I hate him even more.**

You lunge- **MISS-** you swing- **MISS-** you raise your cannon-

***DON'T FIRE-**

But I'm not fast enough. You don't see the blue bone stuck inside the cannon.

You fire, and the cannon explodes.

Everything is a blur for a few seconds.

You finally get your bearings, and push yourself on your feet-

Wait.

You look at your robotic right arm.

...

It's been completely destroyed. There's nothing there from the elbow down.

There's nothing there.

Your arm is gone.

Sparks are flying. Wires are exposed.

You stand up. Everything is fuzzy.

sans looks really worried.

"uh... okay, i did _not_ expect that to happen. uh. okay. okay, i, uh. yeah."

You lunge forward, self-preservation completely forgotten.

sans dodges and counters effortlessly with a wave of bones.

You dodge the first few bones but the last one hits, and-

* * *

_The robot is scrap metal in seconds-_

* * *

You feel like your whole body is being consumed by PSI. The pain is too much. You scream and throw a punch, but sans wasn't even there, and suddenly, you're hit from behind-

* * *

_What's left of her HP is completly decimated-_

* * *

You feel like you've been stabbed in the stomach.

Your sins are crawling down your back, and there's nothing you can do about it.

There are tears streaming down your face.

***Oh, get over it, cryba-**

I flinch. You feel it.

***... I'll help you.**

Suddenly, the pain is... well, it's still there, but it's... dull. Easier to ignore.

You shakily stand up, unaware that your eyes, normally green and bright red, now glow with blood-red light.

Behind you, sans raises a non-existent brow. "that your friend i've heard so much about?"

You don't answer. 

"...not saying anything. i get it. i mean, i've heard of silent protagonists before."

His eyelights are gone.

"never silent antagonists before, though."

His eyelights are back.

"anyway. well. i was hopin' this'd be easy, but, heh, when's life ever given me anything?"

sans throws out another fully-powered attack- dozens of his blasters are firing at you, in sequences that you can't predict, faster than the eye can see- you're running, you stumble, you roll- the bones are coming now- you jump over, stall your landing, and swing your sword at him- **MISS** \- he counters- it's a literal _wall_ of bones, moving through the hall- sans is riding one of his blasters, it's firing at you- you raise a shield, the beam is deflected-

The reflected beam washes over sans and does absolutely nothing.

For a moment, nothing moves.

Then:

"eyyyy, LV one all the way."

***GOD. DAMMIT.**

sans raises a hand. A dozen blasters are summoned, you get ready to move, but they aren't fired. It seems sans is waiting for your move.

You reach into one of your pockets, making sure to make no sudden movements.

You pull out your second- and last- PSI caramel.

sans is curious as to what you're doing.

"kid, really? i mean, i'd get it if that was monster food, but ain't that from the surface?"

You unwrap the candy and put it in your mouth.

You feel your PSI being rejuvenated. Then, the special drug infused with the candy kicks in, and suddenly, your PSI has gone into overcharge.

Lifeup. Healing. Defense Up. Speed Up. Offense won't be useful here.

The burns across your body disappear.

You swing your sword, seemingly at nothing, in a familiar rhythm. You feel PSI thunder- an ability that always came more naturally than PSI Love- building up in your body.

You swing it forward, and lightning bursts forth.

sans barely has time to summon a blaster to protect him.

You snap your eyes shut, because if what you're expecting to happen happens...

The lightning hits the blaster, and there's an explosion of white light as all of the stored-up energy is released all at once instead of in a controlled beam.

You can barely stand against the wave of energy trying to knock you down.

The energy lets up. You open your eyes.

There is a crater in the floor where the explosion originated from.

sans is gone, but there's no dust, meaning he's still here...

... But the realization that you may be able to win this fight fills you with Determination.

File SAVED.

_Watch my back._

***On it.**

You're carefully and slowly rotating, ready for an attack from any direction.

Turns out you didn't need to worry. The attack comes from _every_ direction.

Eight blasters encircle you- you duck, they fire over you- you roll to the side, bones fly past you- you stand and shield- the beam is reflected-

There's a clicking noise- the world goes black for a fraction of a second- and then, suddenly, the attacks are all in different places- you're disoriented- you get hit-

* * *

_You lunge forward and drive your sword through the skeleton's lightly armored chest-_

* * *

There's a massive hole in your chest, but not really, because it only _feels_ like it, but it feels so _real_ it might as well be-

But then, the pain is dulled again.

***Urk-! This hurts like hell-**

_You're taking the Karma for me!?_

***Yeah! J-Just keep g-going!**

You get ready to move but you get hit again-

* * *

_Toriel stares at you in shock and horror-_

* * *

I gasp in pain, though whether it's physical or emotional, you can't tell.

You growl, because this was different, this was _personal_ now-

You're not sure how it's personal, exactly, but it is.

sans is starting to sweat, though you suspect it's actually from some weaker form of panic instead of tiredness.

"uh... h-heh. w-what's with that face, k-kid?"

"You want to know what this face is?" You say, a hint of a long-lost personality peeking through.

"This is my _pissed off_ face."

And the real battle begins.

Every time you get close to sans, the world goes dark, and suddenly, he's on the other side of the hallway, or he's in attack position, or he's winking at you from nearby to piss you off more.

There are bones sitting all over the hallway, and they shouldn't be there, they should've faded by now, but they haven't.

You know for a _fact_ he only has twelve blasters in his arsenal, but sometimes, two of the _same_ blaster appear, and other times there are three or even _four_ -

And he's also impossibly fast. Like, he's literally sliding across the floor and he's _still_ faster than you-

All of this can only lead to one conclusion.

***sans is cheating. He's cheating at _life._ I can't freaking believe it.**

At this point, a single hit will cripple you enough to make it impossible to win. But if sans gets hit once, he loses _instantly._

And he's starting to look really tired.

Or maybe worried. Either one's good.

You're getting tired too, though.

Your shields are up, your stats are raised, and you should be winning, but every second makes it more and more clear:

The fight was going to end in a draw unless something happened, and soon.

It took one moment of relapse, one moment of lost focus, and-

* * *

_The Commander focuses._

_They point two fingers forward._

_Lucas stands in front of them, heartbroken._

_They fire the massive bolt of lightning._

_The mysterious badge reflected it back._

_- **999999999999**_

_The Commander took fatal damage._

* * *

Pain.

Nothing but pain.

Your senses are dulled and your nerves are fried, but not really, because if you were actually hit like you had been, you would be dead.

You're down on one knee, struggling to stand. Your sword is gone. You don't know where.

The hallway is completely destroyed. Half of the windows are gone, many of the pillars are destroyed, and the floor is anything but polished.

sans is walking towards you.

You feel waves of pain flood your body. I had given the Karma back.

_Wha-_

***Trust me.**

I slowly reach into your pocket with your hand.

sans doesn't notice. He's too preoccupied with looking you in the face.

"sorry, kid. but this is never the way things were meant to be."

He raises his hand. A blaster appears.

"...hey. you ever meet a kid named frisk?"

***That name sounds familiar... But not to you, huh? Just to me?**

"yeah. didn't think so."

sans prepares to fire.

"get dunked o-"

One second, sans was fine.

The next, there's a massive cut across his torso.

Your stumble. It had taken everything you had to dash forward like that, even if I was the one doing it.

A thousand deaths at sans' hand fly through your mind.

How many times had you lost...?

You turn around. sans is still in the same position he was in a moment ago.

It's like he's frozen. Though you know he's not. You can see him shaking.

He falls into a sitting position.

"...heh. g-guess i shouldn't be s-surprised... though i had h-hoped to last a few m-more rounds."

"One thousand, seven hundred and fifteen."

You blink. You hadn't said that, but it came out of your mouth.

sans is staring at you in disbelief over his shoulder.

He starts to chuckle. "heh. you're... you're really something else, aren't you, kid?"

You purse your lips.

"just... remember what my bro said, why don'tcha?"

He stands up, though he's shaky.

"'s never too late for second chances."

"welp. i'm goin' to Grillby's."

He walks away, until he's hidden behind a pillar.

"papyrus... you want anything?"

The sound of dust.

You won. Your LOVE increased to 23.

...

***Let's go. ASGORE awaits.**

You hesitate, but you continue.

Judgement day had come, and you hadn't passed.

Instead, you had forced your way through.

* * *

**PART 1-8: FOR LUCAS**

* * *

Asgore doesn't even see what killed him.

You walk in, stab him in the back, and suddenly, he's dust.

You see... a heart?

**I gra** b it **a** nd **cr** u **s** h it i **n yo** ur h **ands.**

**No more love. Just LOVE.**

One moment, you stand in the garden.

The next, there is only a void.

And across from you is me.

**Greetings,** I say. I am wearing an unnatural smile, and my eyes are an infinite expanse of black.

**It's me. = )**

**The Demon That Comes When You Call Its Name.**

You stare at me. I stare back. Our eyes meet.

**I must give you my thanks. Because of you, I have gained enough power to form a physical body once again.**

You nod, though you're confused. That's fine.

**I can sense your confusion. Indeed, why would I _want_ to return to the world I ruined so badly?**

You frown. You're not sure what I mean.

**Well, you know there is a world beyond the Underground. That world... The Surface...**

I smile.

**I will reduce it to A S H E S.**

"No!"

I don't blink. My unnatural smile doesn't fall.

**I'm afraid you misunderstood. I wasn't asking for permission.**

You reach into your pocket and draw my knife.

"I'll stop you. You... You can't do that."

**And why not?**

"Because Lucas worked to hard to save it for you to end it now."

For a while, neither of us moved. You seem surprised at yourself.

**...You remembered something.**

I tilt my head. My smile doesn't change.

**Interesting.**

I poke at your memories. You flinch before locking me out.

**...Hmmm. Perhaps I shouldn't try to read the mind of a psychic.**

You're about to raise my knife, before you notice it's not in your hand.

It's in mine.

**Please do not threaten me with my own weapons. It is quite rude to do so.**

You point two fingers at me and they light up with electricity- But you flinch, and the lightning vanishes.

You're struggling to breathe.

**...Hm. I will make you an offer.**

You look up at me, struggling to breathe all the while.

**...I will spare this... Lucas. But you must give me full control over the power of RESET.**

Your eyes widen for a moment before you screw them closed.

Your eyes open. "Why can't I-"

**It is not mine, nor yours, but ours. Only together is our DETERMINATION enough to pierce time itself.**

"...Together?"

**Yes, together. What are you-**

You point your fingers inward and use PSI Love Ω.

One second, you're completely alive, and the next, you're a pile of scarred flesh and mechanical parts.

"Lucas...

I'm s o r r y

Crack.

Shatter.

...

**That works too, I suppose.**

From the shards of your soul, golden liquid is pulled. The pure DT energy flows through the air until it is absorbed into my very being.

For the first time in what must be ages, my SOUL is complete.

And yet.

There is something holding me back from simply walking away.

I could, sure. But I don't.

I stare at you for a few seconds. You hadn't even hesitated...

My 'Creepy face' disappears and suddenly, my eyes are red, and my mouth is no longer screwed in a permanent smile.

Instead, I frown and walk over to your body.

I turn over your corpse so it's face-up.

I take off your helmet.

You look nothing like I had imagined.

You look like a person.

A person who had loved their brother so much they were willing to die for them- _Twice._

...

"Goddammit, Asriel."

* * *

**[RESET]**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Rewritten!)


	3. Self-Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again.

* * *

**PART 2-1: HERE WE GO AGAIN**

* * *

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**MASKEDMAN.EXE ACTIVATED.**

**ACTIVATE STATUS CHECK...**

**12%**

**35%**

**71%**

**100%**

**STATUS CHECK COMPLETE.**

**AWAKENING**

* * *

The first thing you see upon waking up is the small dot of sunlight peeking through the cavern ceiling far above you.

None of it made sense. Weren't you just at base? Weren't you just being put back into Rest Mode after failing to defeat the other-

Wait what.

You look around. You're in the chamber where it all began- where you apparently "Fell Down."

You take stock of yourself.

Two arms? Check.

Hand cannon? Check.

PSI Caramels? Check.

Sword? Check.

You'd done it. You'd saved humanity!

You stand up and shout in excitement. Yes! Screw you, narrator-person! You'd won!

***Ahem.**

You blink. Right. 'Total Reset.'

This was very awkward.

* * *

sans was _not okay._

Sure, the day started out fine. Pap woke him up with his usual volume, he ate some cereal, he bought some cinnamon bunnies afterwards to fill him up, and he traded puns with his door-buddy. 

Then, the promise came. He wasn't all that sure about it, but... well, it was hard to refuse her, and even if he didn't know her name...

Well, she enjoyed bad jokes, so that was really enough for him.

...

He really needed to raise his standards.

So, he was walking back to town, deep in thought, when suddenly, his phone played the *doo-doo-do!* that played whenever a notification hit it.

He opened the home screen and immediately started to panic.

Over _four thousand_ notifications.

The end was nigh, and sans could do nothing about it.

Well, that wasn't exactly true.

In a very in-character move for him, sans, for lack of a better word, cheated.

He changed the room's exit to go to his machine room, entered, and viola! Shortcut.

The Machine, though still incapable of doing what it was supposed to - whatever that was, as sans couldn't remember - still functioned as as time-space anomaly tracker and recorder. It also allowed for connections to phones. His phone got a notification whenever a new journal entry from one of his previous selves came. It was, though necessary, not pleasant.

Especially when four thousand notifications came all at once.

So, he opened his notes, and began to read.

* * *

"Howdy! I'm-"

One shot. Dead.

***...Okay, what was that?**

_Thought it was best to get rid of him early. He's too dangerous to be kept alive._

***...Ah.**

* * *

The room beyond Flowey's chamber contained a door that had not been locked previously.

A part of you wanted to panic, because _difference!_ But, of course, you had already made a major change.

***Flowey must have done this puzzle for us last time.**

_Well, how do I do it?_

***Check the sign, maybe? It could be a clue.**

You walk up to the sign...

Well. This is a problem.

"I can't read this."

***Huh. Well, I'll read it, I guess.**

***Only the Fearless may Proceed.**

**Brave ones...**

**Foolish ones...**

**Both walk not the middle road.**

***...Okay, I think I got it.**

Suddenly, you lose control of your limbs. I walk your body over to the switches and proceed to press all of the ones not on the darker flooring in the middle.

I then walk over and flip the switch.

The moment the door pops open, I release you.

You stumble and begin to breathe in deep, panicked breaths-

***Uh... Maybe I should've asked for permission?**

You don't calm down at all.

***Okay, what did Azzy do with me? Uh... Okay.**

***Deep breath in. Count to ten. Deep breath out.**

You proceed to follow my instructions, and slowly, you begin to calm down.

***Deep breath in. Deep breath out. You okay, now?**

When your vision stops being so fuzzy, you notice your position.

You're down on your knees. Your hands are on your helmet, as if trying to reach for your head.

You raise your head.

"...Please. Never do that again."

***...Okay.**

* * *

***Froggit approaches. What do you do?**

You stare at the Chi- no, the monster in front of you.

It stares back. It's... kind of cute? In a weird way?

...

...

You walk away.

***...Good choice.**

* * *

The Ruins felt very different when they weren't filled with dust.

They were more... Lively, in a way.

But! That was good, right? The less death, the better.

***You know, you're going to have to kill eventually.**

_??_

***Things... Aren't good down here. Undyne was on watch for you even before the evacuation and everything.**

...

***Toriel also mentioned It being dangerous for humans. Which, back when I was alive, was definitely not true at all.**

_Back when... You lived down here._

***...Maybe.**

_...You're avoiding me. Again._

***Yes I freaking am, now shut up and find out what's going on.**

* * *

"Oh!"

_!_

"I... Was not expecting... Well, greetings nonetheless! I am Toriel, caretaker of the RUINS."

You stare at Toriel for a few seconds. She's kneeling down to you, holding her paw out.

"I do hope you are alright. The Underground can be a dangerous place for humans."

* * *

_You reach for your sword._

* * *

You do nothing.

"Please, allow me to heal you."

A soft, fuzzy paw envelops yours.

Her other one is placed on your chest.

You feel a warm, cozy feeling spread across your body, originating from the paw on your chest.

Nothing else happens, however.

"Hmm... Not a scratch! Impressive."

That's probably why.

She's looking you over with a more scrutinizing eye, now. She sees your sword, and frowns, somehow, even though she has a snout.

You hear her mutter "Who on earth would arm a child...?"

She continues to look you over. She sees the hand cannon, but doesn't seem to notice it's a weapon.

She looks at your outfit.

She looks at your helmet.

She looks at your arm. At first glance, she sees nothing unnatural, but then she looks closer.

"...My child. Is it alright if I raise your jacket sleeve?"

You nod.

She does, and-

Her hands cover her mouth.

"Dear lord..."

You don't get why she's so horrified.

Toriel, upon noticing your confused face, lowers the sleeve.

"W-well! I suppose if you are not hurt, then..."

She trails off.

"Oh, who am I kidding."

She kneels down, and-!

...

You're in a hug.

...

This is an unprecedented situation.

...

This is nice.

Despite your best efforts, you lean into Toriel's chest and close your eyes.

* * *

**FRISK #2 - RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: 1**

_we've got trouble. biiiiig trouble._

_the kid that came out of the ruins today wasn't frisk... well, actually, it was? but it wasn't? when i asked, they gave me the same name, but the two look really different. i mean, they look pretty similar, but instead of a sweater like the pictures, the kid wore a sweatshirt. they also looked more boy-ish. i guess. still indeterminate gender. gonna have to ask this time 'round._

_the kid came out of the ruins crying their eyes out. when i asked them, they just started crying harder and hugged me out of nowhere. i immediately got attached._

_yeah, the new kid is... kind of adorable. frisk #1 seemed like kind of a brat that was still good at heart. he didn't toy with our lives or anything. but this one... i'm not sure their determination is even gonna last 'til the end._

_i'll stay posted._

* * *

When you next open your eyes, you're in a bed in a semi-familiar room.

For a moment, you panic, because _this is a room from the castle-!_

But, upon closer examination, you notice many key differences. There is only one bed, even if there is space for two. The two present boxes, so similar to the ones that dotted the Nowhere Islands, were absent from this room. The furniture was similar enough to be the same at a glance, but was still different upon closer examination.

Also, the walls were a different color. So. Yeah.

... What is that smell?

You glance around the room, and there in the middle of the carpet, is a piece of **(*The world's absolute best)** pie. It seems you've found the source of the smell.

You get out of bed. You freeze at the lack of weight on your head.

_Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet Where's my Helmet_

***Calm down! It's at the foot of the bed.**

You blink and glance over. It's on the floor next to the toybox.

You immediately grab the helmet and put it on. The hand cannon is there, too, seeing as it's attached to the helmet via power cord.

The helmet isn't the only thing that's missing, though. Your black leather jacket is gone, and so are your boots. Your unnecessarily baggy orange pants are still there, to your great chagrin- you would've been glad for an excuse to get rid of them.

Your belt is still on, but it's been loosened, likely in an attempt to make you more comfortable.

Your undershirt has been changed from a fancy-ish gray button-up to a plain white pajama shirt.

All in all, it seems that while you were asleep, Toriel was at least somewhat respectful of your privacy.

Though, your missing sword is worrying. If Toriel won't let you near it, which you suspect she won't, then you'll need a replacement.

Maybe you could get sans to conjure a bone club or something...

You're shaken out of your thoughts by my voice.

***...Try the pie. If it's the recipe I think it is...**

You pick up the plate of pie. It came with a fork.

You take a bite of the pie.

Tastes like home.

* * *

**PART 2-2: HOME**

* * *

"Oh! It seems you are awake."

Upon exiting the room, you had decided to walk over to the living room. Toriel had been sitting in a large armchair, doing something with some needles and thread.

"I am glad to see you are alright. I thought about waking you up a while ago, but decided otherwise. You looked quite peaceful in your sleep."

She frowned. "Though I am a bit disappointed you decided to put your... helmet back on immediately. I noticed it was quite heavy, and I worry it is unhealthy for you to wear."

"I'm used to the weight," You say curtly in reply. Your voice is far more hoarse than you thought it was.

Luckily, Toriel seems to accept your explanation, even if she doesn't seem totally satisfied.

There is an awkward silence for a while.

"...Pardon me if this is a rude question, but... What happened to give you need of that arm?"

"I was created this way."

"Created? Not... Born?"

"I was built in a lab, Miss Toriel. I am not a human, as you seem to believe." 

You're getting more used to your voice. It's far less hoarse then it had been a moment ago.

"I am a 'Chimera,' an artificial life-form, typically made by fusing two or more natural life-forms- though, in some cases, one of the life-forms is replaced by robotic parts. Hence, I was 'born,' as you call it, in a lab."

Toriel looks an odd combination of horrified, confused, and concerned.

"... But... You are part human? Where did those parts come from?"

"Well, they came from..."

...

Where did they come from?

The scientists that made you were oddly cagey about your origins. At first, you had thought it was a lesson not to ask unnecessary questions, but...

What if _they_ didn't even know?

Upon closer examination of your memories... Dr. Andonauts, your personal favorite doctor, had pretty much outright _told_ you so but you hadn't recognized it at the time.

* * *

_"...And then, all of these soldiers just came and dumped you on my examination table, saying 'fix him.' Honestly, they have even worse matters then Ņ̵̰̑̽̒͝ḙ̷̡̫̝̟̳̳͕̹͇̍̂̇̈̄͠͝s̸̡̠̝̳̱̩̹̒̿̃̊̈́͐̀̕̕͝͝s̵̢̡̻̖͈̱̞̤̟̝̭͈̖̱͉̒͘... Oh, I told you about him, right? He's a friend of my son's..."_

* * *

...

What _were_ you?

You're hyperventilating. You're struggling to stand. You can't see, your palms are sweaty, you can't- you can't-

Toriel's paws are on your shoulders. She's saying something-

No. Wait.

She's singing a lullaby.

_"Come, my child,_

_stay with me,_

_I'll protect you,_

_And your dreams._

_Rest, my child,_

_'Neath the tree,_

_And like its branches,_

_Reach for me._

_So, let me keep you safe and warm,_

_Here in my arms!_

_Think, of the life that you live,_

_The joy that it could give,_

_And even if we're worlds apart,_

_Stay in my heart,_

_Some day when you've a choice to make,_

_I hope you'll think of me..._

_Think of me..._

_Think of me..."_

...

***... That's the lullaby she made for me and Asriel. I named it 'Home.'**

...

You step back from Toriel.

You raise your head to look her in the eyes.

You speak.

"Thank you.

I need to go."

Toriel blinks. "Very well. Where-"

"The surface. I have some..."

* * *

_"You were born as this."_

_"You are the Masked Man, and nothing more."_

_"Your purpose is to fulfill orders."_

_"You're not human."_

_"You're not human."_

**_"_ _You're not human."_ **

* * *

You feel your fists clench.

"...Unfinished business."

Toriel stares at you for a second before standing up.

"...Allow me some time to think."

She walks out of the Living Room.

You follow, and see her walking down the stairs.

***Now's your chance. Your stuff will be in her room.**

You follow my instructions. You're filled with Determination.

File SAVED.

* * *

Searching Toriel's room had achieved nothing beyond getting your gear back. There was nothing else useful.

...Although the book full of skeleton puns was especially... interesting? Either way, sans and Toriel know each other, so. Yeah.

***I swear to GOD if those two are dating I will... probably do nothing, honestly.**

There is a very familiar door at the end of the hall.

Toriel is... talking to it? And it's talking _back!?_

Oh. Wait. That's sans's voice.

***Guess we know how _they_ know each other.**

"...But I don't understand _why_ anybody would do that to a child! At first, I thought that it _could_ have been an attempt to save their life, but they don't even know anything about themselves! They don't even think they're _human!_ "

"gotta say, that's one heckova story. kinda above my pay grade, though."

"Yes, I understand that, but-"

"though something you said didn't sit right with me. you said they had something... lodged in their SOUL?"

"... Yes, I did."

"what did it look like? i've got a la- er, access to a friend's lab. i could ask them to take a look?"

"... Would you really do that?"

"yeah. but your human friend's gonna have to come out the door. i bet you don't really wanna risk it, huh?"

"But it all comes down to the same question. Should I let them go? I... Don't want to. And not just because they're a child, but... I don't want Asgore to..."

"kill them, take their SOUL. yeah, i get-"

**"Asgore will _what!?"_**

...

Shit. I said that out loud, didn't I?

Toriel is staring at you now.

"... i'mma say that's your new friend, right?"

"I'll be right back."

Toriel turns.

"My child, how do you know of Asgore?"

***Abort, abort, abort-!**

_How do I reset on command!?_

***Well, last time you died, right?**

_Yes, and I am NOT doing that again!_

***Okay, well, how do you SAVE?**

"My child."

_Determination, I guess._

***Then REVERSE IT YOU FREAKING IDIOT-**

_STOP SCREAMING AT ME-_

"Please answer me."

***She's pulling her strict voice _run-!_**

_No, I can do this-_

* * *

**File LOADED successfully.**

* * *

***Now's your chance. Your stuff will be in her room.**

You follow my instructions. You're filled with Determination-

Wait.

_...When are we?_

***... I think... we went back. But not all the way.**

_...Huh._

* * *

You do everything the same until you reach the door.

"...But I don't understand _why_ anybody would do that to a child! At first, I thought that it _could_ have been an attempt to save their life, but they don't even know anything about themselves! They don't even think they're _human!_ "

***...Why would Asgore want to take human SOULS?**

"gotta say, that's one heckova story. kinda above my pay grade, though."

***I mean, yeah, the barrier, I guess.**

"Yes, I understand that, but-"

"though something you said didn't sit right with me. you said they had something... lodged in their SOUL?"

"... Yes, I did."

***But killing people... That isn't something I can see Da- Asgore doing.**

"what did it look like? i've got a la- er, access to a friend's lab. i could ask them to take a look?"

"... Would you really do that?"

"yeah. but your human friend's gonna have to come out the door. i bet you don't really wanna risk it, huh?"

***... I just... can't understand.**

"But it all comes down to the same question. Should I let them go? I... Don't want to. And not just because they're a child, but... I don't want Asgore to..."

"take their SOUL. yeah, i get it. though, sometimes you gotta take that risk."

"..."

"you okay?"

"...I'm fine. I... need to go."

She stands up and turns around to return to the house.

She stops when she sees you.

"...How much did you hear?" She asks.

"Why does this 'Asgore' want my SOUL?" You curtly ask in return.

...

She looks at you. She notices you've re-armed yourself.

"... Please go upstairs."

"I'll fight him. I can win."

"Please go back to your room."

"I'll live. I've faced worse."

Toriel flinches.

"Please."

"I can't stay here."

"he's right, you know."

***sans, shut up.**

Toriel looks like she's near tears. She lowers her head.

"...I promise I'll see you again."

Toriel raises her head. She looks you in the eye.

Nobody moves for a while.

"...Very well."

You blink. You hadn't expected that to work. Maybe it's because sans is here?

Toriel turns her head to the door.

"Do you remember your promise?"

"...yeah."

"Thank you."

She walks toward you.

She kneels down and wraps her arms around you, and suddenly _her dress is red, her hands are human, she has long brown locks of hair, and her name isn't Toriel_ and she's pulling back.

"...Be good, won't you?... My child."

You nod.

Toriel walks down the hall. You feel her eyes on your back for a moment.

You step forward and push the door open- with ease, this time. No PSI required.

You're not sure how you feel.

* * *

**PART 2-3: sans.**

* * *

sans is smiling when you open the door. His grin is, in a word, shit-eating.

_That's two words._

***I know what I said.**

You stare at each other for a few seconds.

You look away and begin to walk down the path.

sans follows beside you.

"so, i guess you took my bro's advice?"

You blink. Part of you is surprised he knows.

The rest of you absolutely isn't.

"anyway. i'mma take a wild guess and say that you _didn't_ commit mass murder this time. which is nice."

"...No. I didn't."

"good. glad to see it. by the by, how's your friend? adjusting well to the change of plans?"

"..."

"you know, if you wa-"

"Would you believe me if I told you it was their idea?"

sans blinks. "uh, no. not really."

"Well, it was. So."

We're all silent for a while.

"so. you wanna tell me what changed, this time 'round?"

"...My choices did. I guess."

"...eh. good a reason as any."

You've reached a bridge. There's some bars trying to cover it, but they're wide enough to walk through.

You proceed to do so. sans follows.

"so, kid. my bro's gonna be here soon. so, i'd say you should hide behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

There is, indeed, a lamp. For... uh... reasons.

You turn around and stare at sans.

"trust me. it'll work."

***He _does_ know his brother best.**

_That's not what I'm worried about._

You hide behind the lamp anyway. It's the exact shape as you, if you press your arms next to your body. There's even a bit that sticks out to account for your holstered sword.

***This is way to convenient for my liking.**

You say nothing. There's nothing _to_ say. Not in a situation this ridiculous.

Papyrus walks in. You're in perfect view of him, but you don't move anyway.

Somehow, he doesn't notice you even though he can _see you perfectly._

"hey pap, how you doin'?"

"SANS, YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW I'M DOING!!!"

"actually, i don't. mind tellin' me?"

"FINE! I SHALL RIGHT NOW!"

...This was _not_ what you expected.

Gone was the almost sage-like behavior of the previous Papyrus. Instead, he was acting like a freaking _child._

"RIGHT NOW, I AM LESS THAN PERFECT. YOU SEE, NOT _ONLY_ HAVE I JUST DISCOVERED THAT YOU HAVE NOT RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES IN FIVE DAYS, BUT I HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SPENDING FAR MORE TIME AT YOUR STATION THAN IS NORMAL. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN _DOING?!?!?!"_

"staring at this lamp. it's pretty cool. wanna try it?"

_!_

"I DON'T HAVE _TIME_ FOR THIS, SANS!!!"

_...?_

"I AM TOO BUSY TRYING TO CAPTURE A HUMAN!!! YOU KNOW HOW RARE THEY ARE!!! HOW DO I KNOW WHEN ONE SHALL APPEAR?!?!"

You ask me what the heck is going on. I'm too busy laughing in the back of your head to respond.

"hm. maybe this lamp will help you."

"SAAAANS!!!!"

Once he's done, Papyrus sighs. "FINE. CONTINUE BEING LAZY. TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR LAZINESS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL HAVE TO WORK _TWICE_ AS HARD!!! THEN, AND ONLY THEN, SHALL I TRULY EARN ALL OF THE RESPECT AND ADMIRATION - AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, FRIENDS - I UTTERLY DESERVE!!!! NYEH-HEH-HEH!!!"

He runs off.

He returns.

"HEH!"

He runs off again.

... What just happened?

"okay, kid. you can come out now."

You proceed to do so before walking up to sans and staring him in the eyesockets.

***Can I have control for a bit?**

_...Sure._

You feel numbness spread throughout your body.

**"sans."**

"hey, red-eyes. what's up?"

**"How in the freaking world did that work!?"**

"whaddaya mean?"

**"...Allow me to walk you through this step-by-step."**

I walk over to the lamp.

**"First of all, this lamp is way too convenient for my peace of mind. But I can overlook that, because there are other issues I have with this."**

"yeah?"

**"Okay. You were standing there, right?"**

"yeah."

**"And we were here, right?"**

"yeah."

**"So, if Papyrus was here, he could see us perfectly. So how the HELL did he not see us!?"**

"wait, you thought the plan was to hide you?"

**"... You mean it wasn't?"**

"yeah."

Oh god.

"the plan was to make him think you were a lamp."

I immediately shut down and you feel yourself come back to control.

You can hear me screaming in the back of your mind.

You sigh.

"...sans."

"yyyeeesss?"

"You know I can't stay down here long."

sans blinks. "whaddaya mean?"

"I know you want me to be friends with your brother or something. I can't. I need to go."

sans raises a bony brow. "so. you're just gonna skip over everything?"

"Yes."

He nods. "fine by me. just meet me outside grillby's, yeah? there's something i need to talk to you about."

"Which one is Grillby's?"

"the one that says grillby's on it."

"Ah." That makes sense.

* * *

**You started a conversation with: COOLSKELETON**

**snas:** chnge f plns pap

human's rushin

sez dey cant stay long

**COOLSKELETON:** OKAY! TELL THEM I SAID HI!!!

**snas:** will do pap

**COOLSKELETON:** AND FIX YOUR USERNAME!! I DO NOT WANT PEOPLE THINKING YOUR NAME IS ACTUALLY 'SNAS'!!!!

**snas:** ok

**snas has changed their name to: nass**

**nass:** got it

**COOLSKELETON:** AUDIBLE SIGH.

* * *

If the Ruins were more alive this run, then Snowdin was a completely different place. Cheery faces sat on all the monsters wandering around, teenagers cracked bad jokes, and rabbits sold sugary treats of all kinds.

It was nice. Not that you got to be a part of any of it, though, seeing as you were flying over most of it.

***So, explain to me again why you neglected to mention you had WINGS and a JETPACK the ENTIRE TIME!?**

_I had to stay on the ground to hunt Ch- er, monsters. Also, they're kind of finnicky, and they're unreliable to use in a fight. They're only really good for travelling long-distance._

***... I hate you. Your logic isn't even flawed.**

* * *

Snowdin was, in a word, warm. An incredible feat, considering that the whole thing was covered in half an inch of snow 24/7.

The crunching of the snow beneath your boots wasn't enough to distract you from looking at absolutely everything. The whole place was covered with multicolored lights, reflecting off of the snow, filling you with a strange, almost _soft_ feeling when viewed.

Or maybe that was all the fuzzy monsters. That could be it too.

The perfect addition would have been a star-filled sky, but of course, because this was underground, there was nothing but a cavern ceiling far overhead.

Still. It was hard not to imagine it.

Grillby's, once you found it, fit right in to the atmosphere of the town, if it didn't add to it. The bar was clearly designed with a rustic feel in mind, which-

***Wow, I didn't know you had such an eye for architecture.**

_Shut up and keep narrating._

But, of course, such ruminations on the nature of buildings had to end, because sans was looking at you weird and you didn't want him to anymore.

"heya, kid. you not see me or something?"

"No. I did. The building just looked better."

sans chuckles "nice one. c'mon, let's get some grub."

* * *

You notice a whoopee cushion on the seat. You brush it off.

You sit down-

_pffptpbthtthtbppthtbb..._

_pth._

"what's that look for? you thought there would just be one cushion?"

* * *

"Grillby's asking you if you're old enough to drink that."

***Older, schmolder. Just say yes.**

"...Yes."

"...Eh. You're not wearing stripes, so..."

sans looks like he's debating whether to be 'cool sans' or 'responsible sans.'

Too late! The 'beer' is in front you.

You grab it and take a drink.

...

Tastes like salt water.

...

You drink some more.

* * *

You've made a new discovery! It seems your half-robotic nature prevents you from getting drunk.

Which is good, because if you could get drunk, you absolutely would be right now. You just emptied an entire bottle, after all.

You're aware that sans is staring at you right now.

You're not sure you care.

...

Okay, so you may be a _little_ drunk.

"...hey, buddy. once you're done, meet me in that booth. so... we can do what we came here to do."

"You mean talk about the-"

"yes, talk about the thing. just..."

"Well, lucky for you, I already am done. What an incredible coincidence."

You blink.

_Was that you?_

***Nope. All you, partner.**

sans looks at you strangely, before standing up and walking over to an empty booth. You follow and sit down across from him, placing one elbow on the table and lifting your head in your hand.

For a while, neither of you speak.

Until sans speaks up.

"...so, kid. during the last run... did i ever mention the name _frisk_ to you?"

"Yeah- er, yes."

"well, here's the thing. i was kinda hoping you'd know something about them-"

"Because I fell in their place?" You interrupt.

sans shakes his skull. "actually, no. you fell down three days before them."

You raise your head. "...What?"

sans nods. "yep. something happened- guess the kid reset one too many times- and you fell down as an anomaly."

"But... Wait, Frisk could...?"

"yeah. they'd been doing it for a while, too. but, every couple of resets... well, i'll just show you."

sans pulls out his phone and hands it to you.

_Read?_

***Way ahead of you. ahem...**

**Frisk #3 - Run #1 - Load Events: 1**

**looks like my hypothesis was correct.**

You blink in surprise. My sans impression is on point!

_Wait, but I never-_

***Yes, thank you, thank you. Anyway!**

**every reset causes at least one change that should be impossible if everything acts the same. 'random' events like die rolls could have a different outcome, even if everything that led up to it is the same. a good example with frisk's journey that i noticed is that alphys will sometimes accidentally call their number when trying to order a pizza. i know it would make sense if i had a part in that, but really, i don't.**

**promise. swear on my life or whatever.** ****

**anyway.**

**my best guess is that, every few resets, (because Load Events don't seem to have the same effect,) there's a small change in frisk's history that could snowball into a complete change of personality or history. for example...**

**this frisk seems really eager to kill as many monsters as possible, which is weird, because they came out of the ruins at LV 1. so. i'mma guess something the lady said changed their mind? though i doubt she would tell frisk to kill everybody, so.**

**also, the new frisk seems to keep arguing about something- like, full-on shouting match- to nobody... or maybe something i can't see?**

**from what i can tell, they want revenge for the other six kids that died down here-**

***Wait. What the hell?**

***Can I-**

_Go ahead._

**"sans."**

"yeah?"

**"How many humans have died down here?"**

"uhh... seven, if you include ch-"

**"STOP!!"**

The bar was silent for a few seconds. I realize I slammed a fist down on the table.

**"...Don't say that name."**

sans looks oddly thoughtful for a few seconds. eventually, he nods.

_...Keep reading?_

***...Yeah.**

**...they want revenge for the other six kids that died down here. frisk #2 couldn't hold a grudge if they tried, so this is a pretty big difference. gonna post a picture of frisk #3 down here, then i'm gonna end the log.**

**stay posted.**

Below the log is a picture of a 15-year-old child in a blue and purple t-shirt.

...

**"I know this person."**

"really?"

**"Yeah, but at the same time, I don't?"**

"whaddaya mean by that?"

**"...It's like-"**

"-A friend they've never met," You finish as you take your body back.

sans nods, a strange expression on his face.

"so... you think you might've journeyed with the frisks on their adventures?"

"My partner thinks it's likely."

"hm."

sans is leaning back in his chair. It seems he's connected a bunch of metaphorical dots at once... But what could they be?

"My partner wants to know what you're thinking right now."

***Wait, I never-**

"well, i had a hypothesis before, but what you've told me pretty much confirms it."

"Really?"

"yep."

He flicks his wrist, the world flickers black, and suddenly, he's holding a bunch of pieces of paper with a bunch of sciency mumbo-jumbo on them.

He slaps them down on the table in front of you.

"these are the readings from the reset that caused you to appear, and _these_ are the readings from a completely normal reset. notice the massive spike of energy?"

You pull the papers closer. He's right... There is a spike.

...

***Wait, how the hell can I read these things!?**

_Focus!_

***Right, sorry.**

Upon closer examination, however, the spike seems to be a constant of all the Resets. So what...?

"that spike represents the reset. that, in itself, is normal. but look closer."

You do.

...

I can't find anything.

_!_

***What?**

_I noticed something. See those little blips?_

***...Yeah?**

_Those aren't in the other Reset readings. It almost looks like..._

***...A second source of energy.**

Slowly, we raise your head to stare at sans.

sans is smirking, even though his smile hasn't changed. Seriously, how does he _do_ that...?

"guess you came to the same conclusion as me, huh?"

"If your conclusion is that something from outside manipulated the Reset, then yeah."

sans nods, seemingly satisfied.

"good. i didn't want to have to explain."

A flicker. The papers vanish. He didn't even _move_ for that one!

"i have my suspicions as to who manipulated the reset. though..."

He frowns without moving his mouth. The eyelights are making him more expressive.

"...with my luck, it probably isn't."

"I would think you _wouldn't_ want something to be manipulating time. What changed?"

sans stares at you.

You stare back, as if in challenge.

sans sighs, closes his sockets, and leans back in his chair. He's slumping, now.

"sorry, kid. i can't tell you that story. too personal, you know? and for once, i ain't joking."

***We should probably leave it. For now.**

_...Yeah. We can ask again, once we've built up trust._

I nod, accepting the explanation, and lean back into your seat.

sans raises a nonexistent eyebrow.

"woulda thought somebody determined as you woulda pressed further."

"Just because I'm giving up now doesn't mean I'm not going to ask again."

sans nods. "guess i'll have to watch out for that, then."

sans suddenly sits up, as if an idea came to him.

"hey. if you ever need to reset again, and you need me to trust you, just say this."

sans leans in and whispers something into your ear.

...

It's terrible.

***It's so completely sans that I can't help but just... accept it.**

sans leans back. "remember that phrase."

"It'll be hard to forget."

sans snorts. "that's kinda the point. anyway, tell me that in a future timeline, and you'll instantly get level 1 clearance to all of me and pap's secrets... not that he has that many."

"Only level 1?"

"can't be spillin' all my secrets for free, kiddo."

"Fair enough."

... You realize that you've felt really dizzy for the past few minutes.

"...Hey sans."

"yeah."

"What does falling unconscious from drinking feel like?"

Your head falls onto the table. You're out in seconds, but not before you hear sans say:

"...it feels like that."

* * *

**PART 2-4: THE CAPTAIN**

* * *

Part of you had expected sans to leave you in Grillby's, but, surprisingly, he actually bothered to drag you far enough so you were laying just outside Grillby's! How considerate of him.

But, of course, all good things must come to an end, so upon waking up, you gather your bearings, find your sword lying under a garbage bag nearby (You're pretty sure sans put it there purely to spite you) and get moving.

Luckily, he was considerate enough to not take off your helmet. Congratulations! You were shown basic courtesy!

_... I will not comment on that._

Waterfall, upon entry, was just as wet and closed-off as you remember. It seems flying is completely out of the question... Although, that river does look promising...

***Don't try it. There's an overhang not far ahead that's barely high enough for the ice cubes to fit through, much less you. Besides, you'll just get dumped into The Core, anyway.**

_Very well. The long way it is._

Luckily, you were far more familiar with Waterfall then you were with Snowdin. You know where the fastest path is, and you intend to follow it.

Then-

"Yo!"

* * *

_"I-If you wanna hurt anybody else..."_

_"Y-You're g-g-gonna have to get t-through_ me _."_

* * *

"...Yo. I guess." You say quietly in return.

"Haha! Hey, you here to see Undyne, too?"

"No. I'm here to get to the capital."

"Really? Huh. Are you from there? What's it like?"

"It's... really gray. The buildings are big, though. It's got some nice views. I guess."

"Huh. Cool!"

You find yourself smiling a little at the Monster Kid's enthusiasm.

... You should probably learn their name.

"What's your name?"

"Huh? Me? Well..."

They think for a moment before shaking their head.

"I don't have one yet."

For a moment you panic, until you register the "yet."

"... So you're going to get one soon?"

"Yep! Soon as I'm out of stripes. Then, I can name myself! Something about 'finding a name that suits you,' or something."

That... Actually makes sense. Huh. How 'bout that.

Still...

"But what does everyone call you?"

"Oh, everyone makes up their own nicknames. It's like having a million names! So you can make your own if you want."

You look them up and down.

...

They kind of resemble a newborn Drago, if that Drago was armless.

...

"Drago."

"Huh?"

"That's my name for you. Drago."

"Huh. Where's it come from?"

"Surface animal."

"Cool."

"Wait, what?"

But you're already gone.

* * *

You had realized your mistake seconds after you had said it.

You had considered Loading, but you're not sure when you last SAVED, and it's not like this run is likely to last forever.

_What do you mean?_

***You're getting to the surface so you can learn your origins, right?**

_...Yes?_

***So why not Reset after learning them? Then, you can go through the Underground-**

_Again, yes, I know. I'm not the biggest fan of that idea, though._

***But listen! You could get a happier ending for everybody.**

_...This is coming from you. Mister 'murder-humanity-cause-they're-evil.' What changed?_

***... Would you believe me if I said... You did?**

_Really?_

***Yeah. At the end of that last run, you didn't even hesitate to... Well, it reminded me of me, you know?**

_How so?_

***...I did... Something similar.**

_...Right. Do you... Want to talk about it?_

***No.**

_Okay._

The two of you walk in silence...

...

...Until.

"Ahem."

You pause.

This situation is very familiar.

"And what, exactly, do you think you're doing?"

You shrug.

"...Hmph."

CLANK! Clank. clank. clank...

...

...She's gone now.

...

...How the heck did that even _work_?

***We've been asking that question a lot lately and we have gotten no answer _every single time._ I am very, _very_ peeved.**

* * *

It seems Undyne is fated to learn of your status as a human not long after tricking her. Why else would a storm of spears be flying past you as you run across the bridge?

***Though, I noticed they aren't coming as fast. Maybe she's less mad because you haven't killed anybody yet?**

_That's probably it._

The spears are coming faster as Undyne gets more and more frustrated with your perfect dodging. Her Undying forme was far more difficult to dodge.

_...'Forme?'_

***The 'e' makes it look cooler.**

_Ah._

You continue dodging. Undyne continues throwing.

Smells like sushi. And energy spears.

But, all things must come to an end, and you dive into the grass.

Undyne is nearby.

She's looking for you.

You ready PSI Thu-

_Nope Nope Nope._

Okay, fine, PSI Love.

... Wait for it...

NOW-

"Yo, Undyne!!"

GOD. DAMMIT.

Undyne says nothing.

She just grabs the kid and drags them off by the face, plopping them down next to the grass.

You take the opportunity to run- Undyne hears you, readies an attack-

But you're already long gone.

* * *

***Okay, going to be honest here? Not as cool as the chase scenes in the first run.**

_Maybe. But they were easier. Get your priorities straight._

***...But you can load? So the difficulty doesn't really matter, because you'll always get it eventually.**

_Still. The fewer attempts, the better. Dying hurts. I've done it thousands of times already, thanks to sans, and I'd rather not do it again._

***Fine.**

* * *

You poke the echo flower.

_"Behind you."_

Without missing a beat, I speak using your mouth.

**"How many times did you have to re-voice that flower?"**

Undyne sighs behind you.

"Twelve. I planned for this and everything, but people kept walking by and changing it, and I almost gave up on it."

**"But you stayed Determined?"**

You can practically _hear_ Undyne's surprised blink.

"...Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Anyway!"

You turn around and draw your sword.

Undyne readies a spear.

"Now, this would be the point where I would make an epic speech, but you kind of ruined it. So I'll just tell you outright."

She starts spinning the spear in her hand.

"We've collected six human SOULS. You're the seventh. Give it up..."

She stops the spear so it's facing directly at you.

"...Or I'll tear it from your corpse. Your choice."

**"I choose the one where we- er, _I_ don't die."**

You get ready to lunge forward-

"YO! STOP!"

...Well then.

The two of you are standing there, weapons pointed at the Monster K- er, Drago.

"Both of you are dumb and stupid!"

Everyone involved is confused. Probably including Drago.

Undyne sighs, dissolves her spear, grabs Drago and walks off with them.

"Wh- Hey! Stop! I'm not done scolding you two yet!"

Soon enough, they're gone.

***...I guess that works.**

* * *

The bridge where you previously fought Undyne is empty.

***This is oddly ominous.**

_Agreed. Shall we continue?_

* * *

***Here we go. The first real fight.**

Undyne stands on top of a mountain-shaped hill.

...Or is it a hill-sized mountain?

The world may never know.

Anyway.

"...You have absolutely _no idea_ how annoying you've been to track down."

Before I can say anything-

"Thanks for the compliment."

***Oh my god is that a personality?**

_It's just what you wanted to_ _say. I said it for you._

***...Oh.**

You're not sure why I sound so disappointed.

"IT'S NOT A FU- FREAKING COMPLIMENT!!!"

Something metal lands in front of you.

It's Undyne's helmet. Trade helmets?

_Absolutely not._

***Okay.**

Undyne stands in an epic anime pose up above.

"YOU!!!"

**"Me?"**

"You're the one standing in the way of everybody's Hopes and Dreams!"

**"I don't remember anything about that. How do I move out of the way?"**

Undyne growls, an _incredibly_ angry look on her face.

"Oh, drop the freaking act! I know what you want to do. You want to go to the capitol and kill our king, _don't you?_ "

You wince. It's all the answer Undyne needs.

She jumps off the mountain-hill-thing and lands in front of you.

She's grinning, ready for an easy kill. It seems she doesn't think you can fight, judging by the fact you've avoided fights thus far.

Oh, how wrong she is.

You draw your sword.

"...I'm going to be honest here."

Huh?

"I don't really want to kill you, Undyne."

Undyne's grin falls. It seems she's noticed the change in personality.

"...But I can. And if I have to, I _will._ "

You point your sword at her.

**[ACT]**

**Threaten**

"So don't test me."

***...Huh. You managed to do an ACT. Nice.**

Undyne snarls.

"You think _I'm_ the one who needs sparing? HAH! You should be begging for Mercy from ME!!!"

"It's decided, then."

PSI Speed up.

The battle begins.

It's hardly even a challenge.

Though not loaded up on LOVE, your partial killing intent as well as Determination cause your attacks to still deal around a hundred damage each- and, though it doesn't sound all that impressive, that isn't taking into account your sheer _speed._ The spears that dart up around you are always late, and you're never in one position for more than a second. Undyne can barely turn around to look at you, much less have the pinpoint accuracy she needs to successfully skewer you.

In the end, she doesn't even hit you once.

"You know, I'm not really sure _myself_ what I really want, anymore."

Slash. **105.**

"Peace of mind, maybe. Or perhaps revenge. I don't know."

Slash. **117.**

"But I do know I have responsibilities. I have questions that need answering. And most of all..."

Slash. **125.**

"...I may even have a family waiting for me. Hey, maybe I even already met them and didn't recognize them."

_I was Lucas's brother once. I know that much._

Slash. **125.**

"But that's then. Now, there's just this fight. And I know I can't afford to lose."

Not like you even _can_ lose, anyway.

Slash. **132.**

"So. In the end. It's just you or me. And, for now, I choose me. But hey. Maybe we'll meet again in another time."

Slash. **155.**

"But until then... Goodbye, Undyne."

Slash. **Critical hit.** **757.**

Dust.

You Win. Your LOVE increased to 9.

...

***...Okay, what the heck was that?**

* * *

**PART 2-5: HOTLAND**

* * *

"Hey, little dude. We, like, totally can't let you pass."

"Yeah. There's, like, a human? And Undyne told us not to let anyone pass. So. We're doing that. Because it's our jobs."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

**"...Are you two idiots done? Hey, actually, describe the human real quick."**

"...Uh. Okay."

"They had, like, a big helmet? And also a sword? Or something?"

"Yeah, and they had an egg-looking thing on their waist... Wait."

They stare at you for a few seconds.

"Oh. Bummer."

"Yeah. We, Uh. Like. Totally have to kill you and stuff."

Ah. That's unfortunate. Welp. Best not to draw it out.

"Yeah. Hey, bro, Team Atta-"

PSI Love γ.

They're both dust instantly. Your LOVE increased to 10.

* * *

_Hey, what does HP stand for?_

***Hit Points. Or HoPe. Nobody can decide which.**

_Ah._

* * *

"hey, kid. you wanna buy a 'dog? yeah. apostrophe-dog. short for hot dog. just 30 G."

"What's G?"

"...geez, kid, how poor are you? sell your sword or something."

"I doubt any shopkeeper would accept a sword even if I _was_ selling."

"try temmie village. they'll buy anything."

"...I'll keep it in mind for next time."

"k."

* * *

As soon as you're gone-

***Please, for the love - and LOVE - of God, DO NOT GO TO TEMMIE VILLAGE.**

_...Why? What's at Temmie Village?_

***Temmies. Trust me. You want nothing to do with them. You encountered one in Waterfall last time, right?**

_Yes?_

***Imagine that, but a few dozen of them all living in a cave together.**

_...Ah. I see where you're coming from._

You're still probably going to visit the village anyway.

* * *

"heya, kid. welcome to mtt hotland resort. hey, wanna grab dinner with me?"

"No thanks."

"okay. see you next run, then."

"I make no promises."

"i never asked you to."

* * *

A yellow, lizard-esque monster sits on a chair in her lab, watching a screen with a human on it as they proceed to travel to the CORE.

She stares in horror.

"OhGodHowDidTheyGetPastMeThey'reGonnaDestroyTheCOREohGodOhNoWhatDoIDo-"

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Okay! C-calm down, Alphys. J-just... Turn o-on the CORE traps! It'll b-be fine. T-they won't b-be able to d-destroy a-anything! Yeah. Yeah."

She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

The yellow lizard runs over to another computer. She proceeds to type for a while until a new screen pops up.

>ACTIVATE ALL CORE TRAPS?

>y

>CORE FULLY ACTIVE. PLEASE REFRIAN FROM ENTERING THE CORE UNTIL DE-ACTIVATED.

* * *

The elevator isn't working. You have a very bad feeling about this.

***The elevator is only supposed to de-activate in case of emergency. Then again, I guess a human in the CORE is pretty good cause for emergency.**

_What is the CORE, anyway?_

***This wasn't here when I was alive. It seems to be the source of all the Underground's power. From what I can tell? It likely turns the Geothermal energy of the magma and heat and turns it into electricity.**

_Huh. Did the King have it built?_

***He doesn't understand science at all. The Royal Scientist probably proposed the project and he just sponsored it.**

_Royal Scientist?_

***Back in my day, the Royal Scientist was Old Man Serif** **. He was a skeleton, like sans and Papyrus.**

_Are they all named after fonts?_

***Guess so. Anyway, Serif was a genius, But he was also extremely rude and egotistical. If he really did build this, it would probably be called the** **"Serif System" or something, but I digress.**

***Anyway, the Underground probably couldn't have built this when I was still a thing, but that was, like, three hundred years ago. So.**

_Only three hundred? I thought you'd be_ _older._

***It was more like two-hundred and eighty, I think.**

...

_We should probably get moving and stop staring at this elevator like an idiot._

***Yeah.**

* * *

Last time, the main danger of the CORE had been the monsters. The Elite Members of the Royal Guard had seemingly been dispatched as a last-stand sort of case, seeing as there are far fewer Guards this time.

Now, unlike before, the CORE was fully active, with guards stationed wherever there was a safe place. There was nowhere to rest, because as soon as a guard was dust, the traps for that area activated, and you had to keep moving.

There were some traps that you couldn't dodge, like a line of unmoving blue lasers, or a deactivated energy bridge. In those cases, you had to find another path through.

Whoever designed the CORE had clearly done everything in their power to make life hell for any humans that tried to go through it.

And that wasn't even mentioning the monsters. Where before they had always died in one hit, now, they all took two, or even three hits. Their magic attacks were as strong as ever, as well.

You found yourself SAVING and Loading very often. Never a good sign.

In the end, you die seven times.

A part of you wishes LOVE carried over between timelines.

* * *

**FRISK #13(?) - RUN #2 - LOAD EVENTS: 8**

_this is a conundrum. i finally get off my ass to do something and i end up with one of the most confusing problems i've ever had to deal with._

_my life in a nutshell._

_so, i did more research into the mysterious timeline manipulator. 's not who i though it was, unfortunately. he's probably gone for good._

_good news, though- whatever brought the new kid here doesn't seem to be planning anything. the new kid's reset was just as normal as one of frisk's, which is a good sign- it means there's a high chance this was a complete accident- and, if it wasn't, then it's at least a one-off._

_maybe i'll try to convince the new kid to wait a few days so frisk'll fall down. then we can get their point of view, make sure they still exist._

_for now, though, the kid is going on at least somewhat of a better path. they're only killing in self-defense, from what i can tell. they also seem to be actively avoiding fights._

_i'll post if anything big happens._

* * *

**"WELL, WELL, WELLY WELL-"**

PSI Love Ω.

The robot was scrap. Again.

You Won! Your LOVE increased to 14.

***Can't wait to fight sans with extra low LOVE. That's gonna suck.**

_Maybe he won't fight us?_

***Come on. You know we're not that lucky.**

* * *

**PART 2-6: THE UNDERTALE**

* * *

The Capital was bustling with life. Luckily, you didn't have to take part in any of it, seeing as you were high above it all, on what was likely the king's personal balcony.

Asgore's house sits before you. Enter?

_Of_ _course._

You enter.

...There are monsters inside.

They stare at you. You stare back.

A "Final Froggit" that lacks a helmet steps up, but doesn't attack.

"Ribbit, Ribbit."

***I can translate.**

**Once upon a time, a human child fell into the Underground through a hole in caver ceiling of Old Home.**

**Injured by its fall, the human called for help, hoping somebody would hear.**

***...I think I know what story they're telling.**

A helmetless Whimsalot flutters forth.

"ASRIEL, the king's son, heard the human's call. He came and brought the human to their family's cabin."

More monsters gather around, telling the tale one by one.

"The human was eternally grateful, and over time, ASRIEL and the fallen child became as close as siblings."

"The child was treated like the king and queen's own."

This time, you grab my locket, and, after a moment's hesitation, my knife.

Right where they belong.

"The underground was full of hope."

"Many years passed. Perhaps monsters and humans _could_ get along?"

"Then... One day..."

"The human fell to an unknown illness. The child had but one request..."

"To see the flowers of their village one final time."

_Village... Tazmily?_

"But there was nothing we could do."

You desperately want this story to have a happy end.

But you already know how this ends, don't you?

"The next day..."

"The next day..."

"The human died."

"ASRIEL, filled with immeasurable grief, took the human's SOUL."

"He became a being with almost godlike power."

"He travelled to the surface. To the human's village."

"A bed of golden flowers awaited them at the edge."

"But, before he could place the human child's body...

"Screams rang out as the humans saw ASRIEL."

"Not knowing what he was, and thinking he had killed the child, they panicked."

"They attacked with everything they had."

"Arrows and swords and even magic struck him..."

"But Asriel didn't fight back. Not once."

"Instead, he just walked away, a sad smile on his face."

"He returned to New Home. He turned to dust in his parent's arms."

"The kingdom had lost both of the Royal Children in a single night."

"ASGORE, in his grief, declared war on humanity, and the queen, TORIEL, disgusted with his actions, left, never to return."

_Toriel!?_

"Now, the end has come."

"King ASGORE has given us Hope."

"King ASGORE will free us."

"King ASGORE will save us all."

"Aren't you happy?"

"Aren't you excited?"

A froggit hops forward and speaks in perfect English.

"You're going to be _free._ "

The monsters scatter and you're left alone with your thoughts.

...And me.

_...The human in that story._

***...**

_That was you, wasn't it?_

***Yeah.**

...

_The illness wasn't natural either._

***...Yeah.**

...

_You loved them more than anything._

***...Mm.**

You stand there for a moment, thinking.

_...I'm sorry._

You step forwards, towards your destiny.

* * *

***sansn't.**

_What?_

***There is no sans. Therefore, sansn't.**

_...I'm just glad you're feeling better._

***Nobody understands true humor.**

* * *

You go to the basement, first.

Seven coffins.

The first is marked "Chara."

***It's as comfortable as it looks.**

You take note of the names on the other coffins.

You're ready.

* * *

**PART 2-7: BERGENTRÜCKUNG**

* * *

The throne room is not so much a room as it is a garden.

Artificial sunlight pours through holes in the cavern ceiling.

Asgore stands before you, speaking to somebody. A yellow lizard in a lab coat.

"...A-and then th-they proceeded to c-c-completely go through the C-CORE as if it was n-n-n-nothing! Mr. Dreemurr, s-sir, if you fight them, you c-could lose!"

"Any fight could result in a loss."

"B-But I mean, l-like, you actually h-have a b-big chance of losing! Mr. Dreemurr, they have m-magic!"

"...They do?"

You interrupt by clearing your throat.

Both monsters freeze up and slowly turn around until they face you.

For a while, nobody moves.

...

...

...

"Leave us."

Alphys blinks. "O-okay, sir."

She runs out of the room at full speed, nearly bumping into you.

Now, it's just us and him.

"...It's a beautiful day outside," Asgore says wistfully, looking up at the artificial sunlight.

"I suppose." You respond.

Asgore keeps staring. "Birds are singing..."

You look up as well. "They're quite good at it."

Asgore looks down at his garden. "The flowers are blooming."

You kick the dirt. "I prefer sunflowers, personally."

Asgore nods. "Children like you should not be forced to fight for their lives."

You shrug. "I have fought. Before the Underground, I mean. I'm used to it."

Asgore winces. "...Then I suppose what Alphys said is true."

"...Yeah. I'm a soldier." You're not sure why you're talking so much, now, and to Asgore of all people.

You pause to think.

"Although, I've never really fought for myself before."

Asgore produces a long, drawn-out sigh. "What is the human world coming to...?"

"Don't worry. I made sure it was in good hands."

_If anyone can save everyone, it's Lucas._

Asgore raises a brow at that.

"Besides," you continue, "It's not like I even _can_ lose, anyway."

Asgore blinks.

"... I thought as much."

"Let me guess. sans told you?"

"He didn't say exactly what it was. But he mentioned that defeating a human is sometimes more than a matter of simply killing them."

"Yeah, well, that's only in really rare cases. Like me."

You chuckle a little bit. There's nothing happy about it.

"Guess your luck's almost as bad as mine, huh?"

Asgore smiles a little despite himself. The smile falls, though, and he turns away.

"...You know what we must do, then?"

"Yeah."

"Then so be it."

He walks to the next room. You follow.

You say nothing as you make a turn.

Another one.

And then...

_...Woah._

***This is the ba-**

"This is the barrier. But I suppose you must have seen it before?"

"First time, actually."

"Hm. I suppose that won't last long."

"No. It won't."

Asgore raises a hand. Fire appears for a brief moment as he breaks the seal on the SOULs.

Seven jars rise from the floor. Only six are full.

Each one has a different colored heart in it.

Forest Green. Dark Blue. Reddish-Purple. Dark Yellow. True Orange. Cyan. 

Because you checked the basement, you already know who they are.

"Eve." You point to the green SOUL.

"Elizabeth." You point to the blue SOUL.

"Jacques." You point to the Purple SOUL.

"Austin." You point to the Yellow SOUL.

"John." You point to the Orange SOUL.

"Hope." You point to the Cyan SOUL.

Asgore is stunned. His LOVE is only 3. Not enough to have killed six children.

...But he's still responsible.

The seventh jar sits there, empty, taunting you.

There's a strange stirring in your heart.

You clench your fists.

"They could've had lives, you know."

It's been a while since you've been angry.

"You took that from them. Nobody else. _You._ "

Asgore hangs his head.

"Don't fu **c** king **ac** t disappo **i** nted."

We're both angry, even if for different reasons.

"You d **id th** is, so fuckin **g** _ **o** wn up to i **t**._"

"I had to do this," Asgore responds softly. There's no strength behind it.

" **N** o **y** ou di **d** n't."

We look off to the side.

"... **Al** l of th **em co** uld'v **e bee** n som **ebody** else' **s Asri** el."

The whole world goes still.

" **So what** gives _YOU_ t **he** _ **fu** cking ri **ght**_ **to ki** ll them?!"

You don't notice your SOUL is starting to glow.

**"...You w** ere s **upp** o **sed** to **be better th** e **n th** em. **"**

My tears are on your face.

**"...Why?"**

Your eyes are glowing red. Asgore notices this.

He finally notices my locket.

For a moment his eyes grow a little wider.

He knows it's me. He doesn't dare say so.

"...There is no excuse." He says it as if it's a fact.

Anger. Fury.

Justice.

You drop the sword, I draw the knife, and _**W**_ ** _E_** dash forward.

**-359.**

Asgore stumbles, but his trident appears, and he swings.

We're thrown backwards when we're hit by the handle, but we land on our feet, even if we stumble a little.

Determination.

File SAVED.

Asgore swings his hand forward- fire bursts out- We bat it away with PSI- We throw out our hand-

When PSI Love comes out, It's yellow, and it's not Love, it's JUSTICE.

**-754**

It was only gamma level.

But we have no time to ponder. We keep attacking, using the opening created by Asgore's stumbling, each swing tearing his armor further and further.

- **135**

**-142**

**-177**

His HP is already halfway gone.

A blast of fire comes up from the floor beneath us, and we're launched away.

It hurts.

But sans hurt more.

Fire encircles us. We roll under.

A low sweep of fire. Leap forward with PSI.

We kick Asgore in the snout.

**-102**

He hits us in the gut with his elbow. We're thrown away. We're winded- Asgore rears back- he's ready to finish up off- we roll- the trident pierces the ground where we were- finger snap- JUSTICE α- yellow light-

**-366**

Almost two-thirds there.

The fire is everywhere.

Asgore spins his trident, and a wheel of fire appears **(*That was always his favorite trick...)** and launches towards us, but we dodge.

He does it again, but this time, three wheels all homing towards you- PSI Shield β-

The fire was reflected, but Asgore was resistant to fire.

**-21**

You have an idea- you share it- I agree- and we rush forward, but as soon as Asgore begins to stab, we _leap-_

We land behind him, and before he can turn, we stab him in the back.

**Critical. -501.**

Asgore freezes.

We charge an attack.

PSI Justice Ω.

**-1056**

**Asgore hung on with 1 HP.**

You're breathing heavily.

Asgore falls to his knees.

You slowly walk around until you're standing in front of him.

You flick your wrist. Your sword flies to your hand.

You put the tip of the blade at Asgore's neck.

"...I hope you know you deserve this."

He nods.

You thrust forward.

...

Asgore is dust.

You won. Your LOVE increased to 16.

There's an upside-down white heart floating in front of you.

I grab it.

The SOUL was absorbed.

...

You expect some flood of power, or a transformation, or something, but nothing of the sort occurs.

Just a warm feeling, spreading through your body, starting from your chest.

The barrier suddenly looks somewhat transparent.

You step forward.

* * *

**PART 2-8: THE SURFACE**

* * *

It's cloudy.

You were kind of expecting a sunset of some sort. Definitely would have been climactic.

But instead, there is only clouds.

You take your eyes off the sky and-

_!_

***What?**

_This... isn't my surface._

It looks so similar, but you'd been basically everywhere across the Nowhere Islands, and nowhere was there a view that looked like this.

The city wasn't New Pork City. There was no endless ocean. There were no sunflower fields.

It was the surface, alright- but it wasn't _your_ surface.

"...What the fuck?"

You look to your right.

Frisk #13 stands there, jaw completely dropped.

You stare back.

...

...

The adrenaline finally wears off, and you fall to the ground.

You fall unconscious.

* * *

_...Mr. Ebbund! I found this kid and they fell unconscious..._

* * *

_...Frisk, what is this?_

_He has a metal arm!_

_Why are one of his eyes red?_

_I think this kid's part robot._

* * *

_They won't wake up. PSI Healing didn't work. Maybe the hospital?_

_That's a terrible idea. Take him to the apartment._

_Paula, no. Harmony is too much as it is already. And we'll have to bring Frisk, too._

_..._

_Fine._

* * *

When you open your eyes, you're in a comfy bed.

For a second, you think _Toriel!_

...

But it's not.

The bed is large enough- and clearly meant for- two adults. The room has a large-screen TV, and there are six pictures on a table at the end of the bed, all of them facing towards you.

One of them has four smiling children. You don't recognise any of them.

(It's around this point you notice your helmet is gone, but you're too distracted to pay attention.)

The second holds four smiling adults. Presumably the children from the picture, but grown up.

The third holds two of the four adults. The black-haired man, and the blonde woman.

The woman is pregnant.

The fourth holds a happy, smiling family. The man and the son are black-haired. The woman and the daughter are blonde.

The fifth is another family, but this time, they're all blondes, and there's only one child.

The sixth has-

"Gugagableglooa!"

...That was a baby.

You slowly turn your head. In the corner of the room is a baby crib with a baby inside.

The baby is standing up in her crib. She's staring at you with wide eyes. She has an old, red cap on her head for some reason.

You sit up. The baby falls over. Crap, did you hurt-

She giggles. You sigh in relief.

You stand up, get out of bed, and walk over to the crib.

The baby is staring at you.

You reach out a hand.

She reaches out too.

She grabs your finger.

She's so _small_ and _fragile_ and- You don't want to hurt her- but you're completely enchanted- you can't move-

The baby's eyes flash, and suddenly-

* * *

_Harmony... Yeah... I like that name. It fits._

_Aww... look, she likes her name! She smiled._

_Hey, let me give her my red cap._

_That old thing?_

_Don't blame me! It's been in my family for generations._

_I know, I was joking. Put it on already!_

_Hah! It's way too big on her._

_..._

_So, you gonna take it back, or...?_

_She'll grow into it. I did._

_..._

_...You feel it too, don't you?_

_Yeah. I think I do. She's... really strong, isn't she?_

_Very._

_..._

_She's going to do great things. I can already tell._

_Is that your clairvoyance?_

_No. I can just... tell._

_Yeah. Me too._

_..._

_I would do anything for her. I've only known her for a few hours and I already love her that much._

_...I expected you to say that._

_Why?_

_Because_ _I feel the same way._

_So, it's decided, then?_

_Yeah. Guess it is._

_Harmony..._

_You're gonna make us proud._

Deep inside of Harmony's chest, a heart begins to glow a rainbow of colors.

"Hope."

* * *

You pull your hand back. Harmony makes cute baby sounds.

There are tears on your face. But you're smiling.

"She has that affect on people."

You spin around.

The black-haired man is leaning on the side of the doorway, smirking. He's wearing jeans, socks, and a blank blue t-shirt. He's also Asian.

_What does 'Asian' mean?_

***Shhh.**

"Everyone who meets her has the same reaction. They all love her immediately."

You nod. You can believe that.

The man steps into the room proper.

You both walk up to each other.

The man sticks out a hand.

"The name's Ņ̵̺̹̪̫̮̤̥̞̙̱̟̫̗͚̇̆ȩ̵͉̠̹̳̳͎̪͙͇̎͌̈́̉̿̆͜͠s̷̨̛̺̲̙͈̰̣̞͔͈̤̬̮͕͔͖̄̇̽̋̍͒͛̑͑̒͊̇̉̎͛̐̑̏͌͑̚͝ş̷̗͎͎̞̳̮̓̔͛̍̏͑̎̿̏͐̅̅͋̉̐̉̚͠. Nice to meet you."

When he says his name, a small spike of pain enters your skull.

You don't react.

You shake his hand.

...If he thinks you don't have a name, that'll create a whole mess of questions that you don't want to answer.

So, you say:

"...'m Chara."

Ness's smirk only grows.

"That was a lie, but I'll let you say that for now."

How did he know...?

"Anyway! I have a kid here that has a bunch of questions for you. You recognize the name Frisk?"

"...Yes."

"Good. That'll make this a whole lot easier."

He turns and begins to walk out of the room, gesturing for you to follow.

"...Wait."

He turns and raises an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

It's a long shot, but...

"...Do you know anybody named Dr. Andonuts?"

That gets his attention. Ness freezes, the smirk drops off his face, and he tenses up.

"What do you want from him?"

He's not gonna answer your question.

***Take it by force.**

You lunge forward. Two fingers are pointed at his forehead.

You're impossibly fast.

He's... faster?

He dodges effortlessly.

He raises a brow. "You're trying to read my mind, then?"

Can't really lie, so. "Yes."

"Good luck," is all he says.

You growl, lunge forward-

A glowing rainbow shield appears between the two you.

You hit your head on it. You back up, rub your forehead, and glare at Ness, who... Is equally as surprised as you are.

Slowly, you both turn to look at Harmony.

She's standing up. Her cheeks are all puffed up and her face is set in concentration.

The shield vanishes. The concentration vanishes, but the anger does not.

"No." It's all she says.

Ness stares at her. Why is he... Oh. OH.

Harmony just said her first word.

"PAULA!!!"

He proceeds to run out of the room.

You're left alone with Harmony.

You turn towards her.

"...Rainbows, huh?"

She puffs up proudly.

You think your heart just melted a little.

* * *

When Ness returns, wife in tow, the tow of them spend a solid three minutes fawning over Harmony, who just keeps saying 'No' repeatedly, which just makes the married couple coo even more.

Eventually, though, Paula- Ness's wife- asks the question.

"What made her say 'no,' though?"

Ness freezes.

Paula glances at you, who had been awkwardly standing there the whole time.

"...Were you two fighting?"

"...Maybe?"

"Ugh... Ness, you can't just threaten everybody you don't trust! Otherwise, something like this will happen, and there won't always be a Harmony to stop you!"

The chiding is strong, but soft.

***It kind of reminds me of mom and dad back in the day.**

***...**

***I miss the way things used to be.**

Ness softly sighs. "I'm sorry, but he mentioned Jeff and-"

You cut in. "I never mentioned anybody named Jeff."

They're staring at you now. "Jeff Andonuts?"

"No. Lloyd Andonauts."

The two adults in front of you look at you. Then each other. Then back to you.

"...I'm sorry," Paula says softly, "But Dr. Andonuts has been missing for almost three years."

"...Missing?"

Ness nods. "Yeah. Jeff was crushed. He's... kind of gotten over it... But I can tell he still misses him."

... No.

No No No No NO!!

"Calm down! You're hyperventilating!"

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO-

You feel a small hand on your back. Distantly, you hear Ness asking how Harmony managed to get out of her crib.

_calm_

You would never-

_calm_

You couldn't-

_calm_

You were never going to see your brother again.

_calm_

You were...

You were...

...Why?

You're crying.

You're on your knees and there are tears streaming down your cheeks.

You're wrapped in an embrace from two sides. One side is baby-sized. The other is child-sized.

You open your eyes. You see a familiar mop of brown hair.

**"...Frisk..?"**

"Hey, Chara," You hear Frisk mutter.

You're sitting there.

You feel as if everything is going to be okay.

You smile a little despite yourself.

...

" **T** h **a** n **k** y **o** u **.** "

* * *

**[RESET]**

* * *


	4. Furious Pacifist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Take three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some Flowey.

* * *

**PART 3-1: FLOWEY THE FLOWER**

* * *

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**MASKEDMAN.EXE ACTIVATED.**

**ACTIVATE STATUS CHECK...**

**12%**

**35%**

**71%**

**99%**

**99%**

**99%**

**99%**

**ERROR**

**MALFUNCTION-**

**...**

**...**

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**AWAKENING**

* * *

The first thing you see upon waking up is the small dot of sunlight peeking through the cavern ceiling far above you.

None of it made sen-

Ah. You Reset.

Last time, you had met the Reset with something similar to joy. But now...

...

***Hey, Partner. You okay?**

_Not really._

* * *

"Howdy," Flowey says curtly. He looks to be in a pretty bad mood.

You stop in surprise. You haven't had the chance to do anything different this time, so how...?

"So. I have a very important question for you."

His expression turns to one of fury, his mouth grows large fangs, and his eyes grow bigger and more threatening.

" **WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?!!?** "

"You remember," You respond calmly. It wasn't a question.

Flowey closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and calms down.

"...Yeah. I do. So, care to _explain?_ "

"You were too dangerous to be kept alive."

He blinks. "So why am I alive right now? And why'd you Reset after that first run?"

Then, his eyes widen as he makes a sudden realization.

He smiles.

"...Or maybe you're just like me."

His smile grows.

"You just want to see what happens. You're _experimenting._ You're just like _Me._ "

Fury fills you, but you hold yourself back.

Instead, you speak curtly.

"...Or maybe I'm using a power responsibly. You ever think of that?"

Flowey blinks, and his face falls. It seems he hadn't even thought of that.

Then, he laughs without mirth.

"... Hah. Responsibility. What a joke."

He smirks. "With that power, you could do _anything_! You wouldn't have to worry about _Responsibility_ anymore."

"But I _want_ to do good. I want to save people."

Flowey barks out a laugh. "Trust me. That's not going to last long. As long as that option's there, you'll be tempted. And, one day, you'll _do it._ It's just in people's nature."

He leans forward and whispers, as if sharing a secret.

"It's in _your_ nature."

He burrows into the ground.

***...Well. That happened.**

You continue forward.

* * *

sans was _not okay._

Sure, the day started out fine. Pap woke him up with his usual volume, he ate some cereal, he bought some cinnamon bunnies afterwards to fill him up, and he traded puns with his door-buddy. 

Then, the promise came. He wasn't all that sure about it, but... well, it was hard to refuse her, and even if he didn't know her name...

Well, she enjoyed bad jokes, so that was really enough for him.

...

He really needed to raise his standards.

So, he was walking back to town, deep in thought, when suddenly, his phone played the *doo-doo-do!* that played whenever a notification hit it.

He opened the home screen and immediately started to panic.

Over _four thousand_ notifications.

The end was nigh, and sans could do nothing about it.

Well, that wasn't exactly true.

In a very in-character move for him, sans, for lack of a better word, cheated.

He changed the room's exit to go to his machine room, entered, and viola! Shortcut.

The Machine, though still incapable of doing what it was supposed to - whatever that was, as sans couldn't remember - still functioned as as time-space anomaly tracker and recorder. It also allowed for connections to phones. His phone got a notification whenever a new journal entry from one of his previous selves came. It was, though necessary, not pleasant.

Especially when four thousand notifications came all at once.

So, he opened his notes, and began to read.

* * *

You complete the puzzle in seconds, remembering the solution, but before you can move on-

You trip a little.

You look down and see a flash of green from a vine.

***He's going to keep doing stuff like that, isn't he?**

* * *

***Froggit approaches. What do you do?**

You step forward and pat it on the head before walking off.

The Froggit blinks in confusion.

(...What was that?)

"Oh, nothing," you say.

You walk away.

***Are we not going to acknowledge the fact that you understood the froggit?**

_Nope._

* * *

***So, what's the plan this time 'round?**

_I'm gonna escape without killing anyone... Except Asgore, because fuck him._

***...Okay. Not sure how you're gonna get past Undyne, though, because she's going to keep fighting as long as her HP's above 0.**

_Don't worry about it. I have a plan._

* * *

"Oh! I... Was not expecting... Well, greetings nonetheless! I am Toriel, caretaker of the RUINS."

"...Greetings, I guess."

You stare at Toriel for a few seconds. She's kneeling down to you, holding a paw out.

"I do hope you are alright. The Underground can be a dangerous place for humans."

You shrug. "Some monsters attacked me, but. Uh. They surrendered as soon as I so much as looked at them funny, so."

"So, you are unhurt?"

"Yep."

She's looking you over with a more scrutinizing eye, now. She sees your sword, and frowns.

You hear her mutter "Who on earth would arm a child...?"

She continues to look you over. She sees the hand cannon, but doesn't seem to notice it's a weapon.

She looks at your outfit.

She looks at your helmet.

She looks at your arm. At first glance, she sees nothing unnatural, but then she looks closer.

"...My child. Is it alright if I raise your jacket sleeve?"

"...Oh, right. I have a metal arm."

One glance at Toriel's panicked face, and-

"It doesn't hurt or anything. I'm fine."

Toriel sighs in relief. "Well, I suppose if you are unhurt then..."

She stops. "Oh, who am I kidding."

She hugs you. You lean into it easily, this time.

* * *

**FRISK #4 - RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: ??**

_okay. so. the new frisk is magic. i kid you not, they have a wand, a robe, and the whole shabang. seriously, what the hell. i expected this out of a way far-off frisk, not number freaking four._

_although... this does get me thinking. maybe it isn't a huge change? maybe the other frisks were magic, and just didn't know..._

_i'll have to test the next one to see if my theory holds up._

_anyway. the powers that this frisk has are all time-related, which i'm guessing was messing with the LE counter. i'll have to re-adjust it._

_at least i know this is their first run. they didn't recognize me or pap, and i doubt they were faking it._

_funny thing this frisk said... they asked me if i knew any exorcists. no idea what those are. when they asked me that, though, their eyes turned red, they looked really panicked for a moment, but then they turned normal again and said 'yeah, that's why i need one.' i looked up what exorcists are on the undernet, but all i got was some old human movie._

_maybe if i watch it, i'll learn more. i bet pap will love it. he'll probably call over undyne... maybe i'll invite the kid over and we'll all have a movie night._

_though, i won't deny... the existence of this frisk has got me thinking._

_what if... a frisk could break the barrier? without death?_

_i need to think on this for a while. i'll post any new info i get._

* * *

**PART 3-2: HOPELESS QUEEN**

* * *

You wake up in the bedroom again.

This time, you don't panic when you find your helmet gone, and instead pick it up from where it was last time.

***...**

_What is_ _it?_

***You're really attached to that helmet, aren't you?**

_So?_

***Maybe try taking it off-**

_NO._

***Okay,** **jeez.**

* * *

You pick up the pie, but don't eat it yet. Instead, you take it with you.

***How exactly do you plan to carry it without some kind of covering?**

_I don't. That's why I'm getting one._

***Ah.**

* * *

"...Hey."

"Oh! My child! I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah. Hey, where's the plastic wrap?"

Toriel blinks in surprise. "Why would you need..."

She glances down at the pie in your hands.

"...Were you not hungry?"

"No. I wasn't."

"Very well. We don't have any plastic wrap, but I do think I have tinfoil in the bottom drawer..."

"Thanks. I'll use that."

You walk into the kitchen.

The foil is right where she said it'd be! How 'bout that.

You walk back into the living room, pie in pocket.

"Thanks, Toriel. But I need to go now."

Toriel freezes.

***Straight to the point, huh?**

_Yeah._

"...Go? Where?"

"The surface. I know about the barrier. I can break it-"

"My child, you are _not_ sacrificing your life-"

"But I'm _not._ I can go through, get an already-dead SOUL, and bring it back."

"But that's assuming you can even make it to-!"

"I'm not a normal child, Toriel. I've taken exactly twelve lives."

_In this timeline, at least._

Toriel is staring at you in shock.

You continue before she can interrupt. "If I have my way, unlucky number thirteen will have deserved it, the barrier will be gone, and I'll be back with my family."

Because Lucas is coming. You just... _know_ he is. Somehow.

You're ranting, now. But all the pent-up emotion is finally being released, and you can't stop.

"I know I look like a child- And, technically, I am one. But I've probably seen shit you haven't, done things you could only dream of- Hell, I can freaking _fly!_ "

Your wings pop out. Toriel jumps in surprise.

You wings fold back in as you continue speaking.

"You know, up until recently, I didn't even know I _had_ a family. I thought I was a nothing but a weapon- something to be used by a _master,_ " You sneer, "Like a fucking _dog._ But I'm still human, dammit, and I'm going to _emote_ like one! And, hey! Guess what else!"

You point two fingers forward. They begin to glow the yellow color of your newly upgraded PSI Justice.

Toriel's jaw drops.

"I'm a psychic, and a pretty damn strong one too! But noooo! I was still stupid enough to get my mom _killed,_ then get _myself_ killed trying to avenge her like an IDIOT!!"

You're not even sure what you're saying anymore.

"Then, guess what else!? I tried to kill my own brother and _I didn't even know what he was to me!!_ I thought he was just another enemy, but then my dead mom's _ghost_ had to stop hanging around in heaven to tell me to _stop killing people_ and guess what the first thing I do with my newfound freedom is!? I Shoot myself with _lightning_ and now I can't use the power that comes most naturally to me because every time I try to, I freeze up, and suddenly, I'm back _there_ again, in that cave, watching _my brother_ watch _me_ kill myself for the _second time!!_ And then, I wake up down here, not knowing how I got here and in my confused mind I start going around killing every monster I can find, but then suddenly I realize I have the ability to Reset _time itself_ so I go back to the start, and when I _finally_ get to the surface I realize I'm not even on _my_ surface and I guess I'm a thousand miles away from home or something, so I go back _again_ and now I'm doing this _a third time!!_ "

Your head hurts. You look down.

The ground is scorched around you. Your hands are glowing again.

"...I just want to go home."

There are tears running down your cheeks.

"I just wanna see Lucas again."

You look up at Toriel.

"I just wanna do something _right_ for once."

For a while, nothing moves.

Then, Toriel stands up.

"Please wait here. I have something I must do."

She walks off. You hear her walking down the stairs.

***...Are you okay?**

_I could really use a hug right now._

You feel the phantom sensation of limbs encircling you.

_Are you...?_

***To the best of my ability as an ethereal being, yeah.**

_...Heh._

***Hey, the first laugh I've gotten out of you!**

_...Thank you, Chara. For everything._

***...Yeah.**

You try to stand, but can't.

***Can I...?**

_...Yeah._

I take partial control, and together, we stand up, and move onto the basement.

**You realized the power of PSI Karma.**

* * *

Toriel stands in front of the door.

"This is the exit of the Ruins. Through here, you will find the rest of the Underground.

...I am going to destroy it."

You find you're not very surprised.

"Now, be a good child and go upstairs, do you understand?"

"You're trying to protect them. The rest of the underground, I mean."

Toriel winces.

"No, I get it. It's... fine."

You draw your reclaimed sword...

...And drop it on the ground.

**[ACT]**

**Plead**

"Let me through, Toriel. Don't make me do this."

"...Very well, then. There is only one solution to this."

She turns around. There is fire in her hands.

"Prove it to me. Prove... Something. Anything."

She throws her hand forward.

Fire comes at you in steady streams.

They're slow, but there's a lot of it.

You make no move to avoid the attack.

***What are you doing?**

_Proving something._

You get hit. It hurts- more than you expected.

You stumble, but don't fall.

Toriel stares at you. Her eyes are empty.

**[ACT]**

**Stand**

You refuse to fall. Your defense increased.

The next wave hits you. You keep standing.

"What do you hope to accomplish like this?"

**[ACT]**

**Criticize**

"I could ask you the same question."

Toriel winces, but keeps attacking.

You take the hit.

**[ACT]**

**Stand**

You refuse to fall. Defense increased.

You take another hit, but it only grazes you. Toriel is actively trying to avoid you, now.

"...Why?"

"Because I can. And because I can, I have to."

The fire comes at you again. Another weak blow.

**[ACT]**

**Stand**

You refuse to fall. Defense up.

It's taking effort to stand, now.

"I do not understand..."

"I think you do. You just don't want to admit it."

The fire jets forward in a powerful attack.

You stumble, almost fall, but don't.

**[ACT]**

**Stand**

You refuse to fall. Defense up.

It's becoming hard to breathe. All the smoke in the room... You must have smoke inhalation problems by now.

You can barely see. Your limbs are numb.

But you still don't fall.

**[ACT]**

**Call**

"Toriel."

She's crying a little.

The attack misses completely.

**[ACT]**

**Challenge**

"Finish the job, if you want to so badly."

A fireball appears. It inches toward you.

You don't move.

... Three feet.

Two feet.

One foot.

Six inches.

Four inches.

Two inches.

One.

You can feel the intense heat wash over your face.

The fireball stops.

The fireball vanishes.

"...Please. Go upstairs. I promise, I can- I can take care of you."

"I already have a family. They need me."

"But-"

You step forward and hug Toriel.

"I promise... I'll see you again. Whether it's in this time or the next."

For a while, nobody moves.

Toriel hugs you back.

"...Thank you, my child. I... I..."

She's crying. You squeeze tighter.

"I-I'm so sorry..."

You hold each other like that for who knows how long.

* * *

**PART 3-3: THE SKELETON ~~TRIPLETS~~ TWINS**

* * *

On the other side of the door... Isn't Snowdin?

It's a long hallway... Odd. This is new.

You walk into a larger, more open cavern and-

Oh. Flowey.

"...Interesting."

He has a strange look on his face. Thoughtfulness?

"You know, I thought I had you all figured out. But then you had to go and have a temper tantrum like that, and... Well, it added some new things to the-"

"Just get to the point, I'm not in the mood."

Flowey blinks in surprise, before frowning.

"...Rude. Anyway, I was just wondering what it was that made you want to spare her so badly. She was attacking you- Why let her go off scot free?"

"...Because If she killed me, I'd deserve it. And If I killed her, she wouldn't."

Flowey nods. "So, your thing is Justice, then?"

"Karma, now. But... Yeah."

"Uhh... Karma?"

"Yep. That's what it's called, at least."

"... Huh."

Flowey stares at you strangely for a bit.

...

"...See you later."

You nod, confused.

He burrows into the ground.

You continue on to Snowdin.

* * *

sans is waiting for you, again.

"base LV again? And this time without my help."

"sans. Please. Be quiet. I'm not in the mood."

"hey, it's not like i told you a secret password or anything... i did, right? my notes said so."

"... I'm a stupid doodoo butt."

sans bursts into laughter.

***Yeah, I about expected that.**

You sigh and walk away, leaving sans laughing in the snow.

* * *

"AH! HELLO, STRANGER!!! IT IS I, THE GRRRRREAT PAPYRUS!!!"

"...I'm a stupid doodoo butt. Please tell me there isn't anybody else anywhere who knows that password."

"...AH!! I SUPPOSE SANS MUST HAVE GIVEN THAT TO YOU???"

"...Yeah."

"WELL, I, FOR ONE, DO NOT UNDERSTAND HIS INTENSE NEED FOR SUCH INFANTILE PASSWORDS. IF SOMEBODY TOLD ME 'I'M A TIME TRAVELLER' I WOULD TRUST THEM IMMEDIATELY!!!"

"Papyrus, I'm sorry, but that's just-"

"WERE YOU ABOUT TO SAY NAIVE? ONE OF MY MANY FRIENDS CALLS ME THAT SOMETIMES, BUT I DO NOT REALLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!!!"

Papyrus's sockets widen.

"I JUST REALIZED!!! I MUST RECTIFY THIS ISSUE AT ONCE!!! I SHALL GO LOOK UP 'NAIVE' USING THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF THE UNDERNET!!!

Papyrus proceeds to run off.

You're about to move when he comes back.

"WAIT RIGHT THERE, HUMAN!!! DO NOT MOVE A SINGULAR INCH!!!"

Papyrus runs off again.

***...Move an inch?**

_Yes._

You walk away-

"heya, kiddo."

"Oh. sans." When did he get there?

"yep. how ya been? meet my bro properly this time?"

"I told him the password, he called you infantile, then proceeded to run off to look up the definition of a word he didn't know."

"yeah, pap reads the dictionary for fun, sometimes. at least he knows he's pretty much the only one who does that."

sans sighs. "and yet, he still wants me to read fluffy bunny to him as a bedtime story every night."

sans starts smiling genuinely. "man. isn't my bro the coolest?"

"I wouldn't call him cool. But... He's definitely... Something."

sans's eyelights vanish. **"hey, kid. sarcasm isn't funny."**

They reappear. "besides. cool or not, you have to admit he tries real hard."

"Yeah, at what? He says he wants to capture a human, but then he just goes and gives up on that the moment you ask him not to. Also, he's constantly going on about how many friends he has, but I don't think he has a single one!"

***Hey. I will let you be angry at a lot of people, but _not_ Papyrus. He doesn't deserve that.**

You breathe in. You breathe out. "Sorry. I... Shouldn't be mad at Papyrus. I'm just... Confused, here."

sans is looking at you strangely. "there's a lot going on here that you don't understand, kiddo."

"Then help me understand. Why do you two have all of this timeline-monitoring equipment? Why do you have graphs and notes and charts? Why did you help Frisk when they were the one with the Reset power? Why do you help _me_? Give me some sort of explanation here, I don't know-"

"kid, stop."

You blink. sans looks... tired. But not the kind of tired in which you want to sleep, no- The type of tired where you feel like there's no _point_ to do anything so you just _don't_ do anything.

_That's a type of tired?_

***Yes.**

sans turns away from you. "you want to know the truth? me and pap are twins. but we were triplets once."

He sighs. "guess where the third one is."

He walks away and turns a corner. He vanishes.

"...Oh."

> * * *
> 
> **Hey! Author's note here, because I feel as though I may have created some... Odd backstory for sans. Stuff that the fandom generally isn't used to. For example- sans doesn't remember resets. That's not a head-canon, that's a genuine canon. There is overwhelming evidence to support that in the game.**
> 
> **Also, Papyrus being just as deep in as sans! I feel as though everybody who does this completely deletes his character in doing so, so I decided to keep his personality but also give him... Not quite equal knowledge to sans, but if he wanted to, he could get all of that knowledge.**
> 
> **I also made sans and Papyrus part of a triplet because I thought it created an interesting dynamic for our masked 'hero.' To make it more clear, however, sans is oldest by three minutes. Pap is the youngest. The mysterious third skeleton in the middle child.**
> 
> **The reason why sans seems so much older than Pap, though, is due to an idea from "How to Save a Soul," an incredible Undertale story here on AO3. It's written by**[TheArchimage,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArchimage/pseuds/TheArchimage) **And it's super underrated.** **Anyway, the idea is that monsters age based on their mental state, which is why Gerson, a non-boss-monster, could remember the war as clearly as Asgore or Toriel. He's only alive today because he found a loophole in the way the aging works; just stay overly positive and don't really care much about anything and you can live a really, really long time.**
> 
> **One more thing! In order to make time under the Barrier work, I decided to make time seven times faster underground then on the surface. So, seven days on the surface would be one in the underground. This allows people from all sorts of eras to appear without creating too many loopholes. Also, If you're wondering about the "Nose Nuzzling" Trophy that has vexed anybody who has tried to make an Undertale timeline; there's a simple fix for that. The trophy only says '98- I think it would be really funny if it literally means the year 98, and Frisk is just reading it as 1998 because it makes sense. This immediately fixes a million timeline issues.**
> 
> **Also, on the matter of the multiple Frisks... This was my solution to explain player presence without actual player presence. After all, no two players play Undertale the exact came way, so why should all Frisks be created equal? Also, originally, all the Frisks were going to be normal with just some personality variance, but then I had the idea to make a Frisk an adult and it all just sort of spiraled from there. Eventually, we'll get to hear about all 13 Frisks. See you again at the end of the story.**
> 
> **Ciao** **!**
> 
> * * *

Slowly, you pull yourself up from the ground.

_What the hell just happened...?_

***I believe a dramatic flux in the balance of the story has occurred.**

_...The fuck?_

* * *

Your landing in Snowdin was far more smooth than it had been last time.

Of course, you didn't land in a clearing this time, but this time in the middle of the road.

Oddly enough though, most of the monsters in the town barely reacted beyond a glance or a surprised look. The only one who reacted strongly was, funnily enough, Papyrus.

"WOWIE!!! I DIDN'T KNOW HU- ER, YOU COULD FLY!!!"

"My ability to fly is unnatural. I'm probably the only... Person like me that's capable of non-magical flight."

"OH. COOL!!! THAT JUST MAKES YOU EVEN MORE SPECIAL!!! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!"

"Right. Hey, Papyrus. I need your help with something."

* * *

"HMM... A DISGUISE, YOU SAY? THE IDEA HAS MERIT, HOWEVER, UNDYNE WILL LIKELY NOT BE FOOLED!!! SHE IS FAR SMARTER THAN ONE WOULD THINK WHEN SEEING HER... DESTRUCTIVE PERSONALITY. SHE IS MORE THAN CAPABLE OF RECOGNIZING A HUMAN AT A GLANCE!!!"

"Yeah, I can tell. But, if my plan works, then I won't have to fight her at all."

"THAT IS TRUE!!! VERY WELL, MY FRIEND, I SHALL HELP YOU MAKE A DISGUISE!!!"

* * *

In order to gather the materials needed, Papyrus used his key to enter sans's room so he could search his impossibly large closet.

Seriously, that place is like the Room of Requirement from Harry... Something?

_You remember a specific example of something from the book, but not the name of the book itself?_

***My knowledge of Pop Culture is very sporadic. I have no idea what I do and don't know.**

_...Wait. Aren't you hundreds of years old?_

***Yeah, my best guess is that I know all this stuff because of the Frisks.**

_...Yeah, that does make_ _sense-_

Papyrus interrupts our conversation when he comes out of sans' impossibly massive closet.

"HELLO AGAIN, HUMAN FRIEND!!! I HAVE PROCURED THE MATERIALS NECCESARY TO CONSTRUCT A DISGUISE!!! NOW, WE MUST CHOOSE HOW YOU SHALL LOOK."

"Okay let's get started. So, you see those old socks? Those are gonna be ears..."

* * *

You suppose you could pass for a monster like this...

All of your visible skin has been painted a solid black. You flipped your belt inside-out and painted the Delta Rune- the symbol of the Kingdom of Monsters- On the now-visible side. You also hung some black-dyed socks from your ears, making them look relatively similar to Toriel and Asgore's, which hopefully won't make Undyne suspicious.

Then again, once you put on your helmet, you'll barely be able to see them, so hopefully it shouldn't be a problem.

Your metal arm was also interesting. Instead of chrome, like it was originally, or black, like the rest of your body, it was a tannish white- The same color as a bone.

You see what Papyrus did there.

Extend your wings, and suddenly, you barely look human anymore.

...

You're not sure how to feel about that.

* * *

"GOODBYE, TOTALLY-NOT-HUMAN FRIEND!!! I SHALL BE SURE TO CAPTURE YOU IN YOUR NEXT RUN!!!"

"Yeah... Fat chance of that. See you 'round, Papyrus."

"NYEH-HEH-HEH!!!"

* * *

**PART 3-4: IN PLAIN SIGHT**

* * *

Ahh, Waterfall! How nice.

You do quite like it there. It has a nice atmosphere.

Even if Drago- Well, you haven't given him a nickname yet, so...

Not-Drago kind of ruins the atmosphere, is what I'm trying to say.

"...So then I told my parents I wanted to meet Undyne but they were all like 'Oh no, its too dangerous, you can't swim' and all that stuff. I mean, what if I just don't fall in the water? It's that easy!"

"Uh. Hey- What's your name?"

"Oh, I don't have one yet. I'll give myself one as soon as I'm out of stripes. My friends give me nicknames until then, though!"

"Well, your name is Drago now."

"Drago, huh? I like it! Hey, you wanna hear my impression of sans?"

"whose impression of me?"

"AH! Oh, hey Mr. sans!"

sans nods back before turning towards you.

"hey, kid. quick question- how'd you get in my room and what did you take?"

"Papyrus let me in. We took costume supplies."

"no keys?"

"...Keys?"

"good."

"Hey, wait!"

But sans was already gone.

"...How does he _do_ that!?" You shout.

"I dunno. It's a big mystery, but everybody thinks it's pretty funny either way."

"It is _not_ funny, it is _infuriating._ "

* * *

"Ahem."

Well, here goes nothing.

You turn around and stick out your hand, looking up at Undyne.

She raises an eyebrow, but takes your hand to shake it anyway.

...

Nothing eventful happens.

What, were you expecting a whoopee cushion or something?

Next to you, Drago is seemingly bursting with the urge to start fan-monstering over Undyne.

"...My friend wanted to meet you," you say perfectly calmly as you step aside.

Drago runs up and starts talking to Undyne at about a mile a minute.

You can't understand a word he's saying. Apparently, neither can Undyne.

"Woah, woah! Slow down there, kid! I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Oh. Sorry!"

"How about you start from the beginning?" You suggest.

"Oh! Okay! So, uh, Undyne, you're kinda my hero and..."

As the two talk, you walk over to, and sit on, a rock.

When you look back at the two, Undyne is showing off her muscles, and Drago is watching in fascinated amazement.

You smile a little.

You turn away and watch the river flow.

The distant sound of lively conversation...

The quiet flowing of the river...

The atmosphere of this place fills you with Determination.

File SAVED.

"Yo!"

"Huh?"

You turn around. Drago and Undyne are both walking towards you, smiling.

"What's up?"

"Undyne's gonna escort you to the Capital!"

Outwardly, you look fine. You just say "Oh, cool."

Inwardly you're panicking. How the _hell_ did Drago do that!? Is that one little change enough to do something this big!? What the actual F-

"Hey, kid, you okay? You got this weird foggy look in your eyes."

You purse your lips and nod. "I'm fine, I guess."

You stand up and stretch a bit.

"Let's get going."

* * *

Travelling with Undyne through Waterfall is very different from travelling alone, or even with Drago.

It's... refreshing, though. The two are quite talkative, and they change the way Waterfall _feels_ quite a bit.

Luckily, though, they're considerate enough to notice you don't like answering questions.

For example:

"Yo!"

"Hm?"

"Where are you from, anyway?"

"... None-ya."

"None-ya?"

"None-ya business."

"...Oh."

...So that was nice. sans would be proud, at least.

Then, you stop in the piano room.

"Hey, guess what!? Did you know I'm actually really good at piano!?!?!?!!?"

Undyne says it with the typical overenthusiasm that fills her every word.

"Wow! Hey, can you teach me?"

For a while, nobody moves.

"...Oh, right!"

Suddenly, two glowing-green hands appear in midair near Drago.

"This is my magic and it looks like this because I don't have hands so I use it instead of hands!"

They vanish. "But... I can't use them for very long."

Undyne nods. "Well, first, I'mma play my Theme Song!!!"

"You made a theme song for yourself?"

"HELL YEAH I DID!!!! EVERYBODY NEEDS A THEME SONG!!!!!!!!"

Undyne calms down in what seems like an instant. "...Anyway!"

She sits down. "I call this 'Spear of Justice!'"

The song she begins to play is fast-paced, loud, and proud- A.K.A. 100% Undyne.

***I bet I can make lyrics for this.**

_You could. That doesn't mean you should._

***Oh, come on!**

_Besides, they lyrics would probably be nothing but Undyne screaming for a whole two minutes._

***...Yeah, that's true.**

Eventually, though, the song comes to an end with a great flourish, and Undyne stands up, smiling from fishy ear to fishy ear.

Drago looks completely astounded.

***...Hey, let me try something.**

_Uh, Sure?_

I take control.

**"...Can I play?"**

"Oh! Yeah, sure. I hope I didn't accidentally break it..."

Undyne steps back and lets me step up to the Piano.

I sit down.

**"...This is As- er, His Theme."**

I begin to play.

_It's beautiful._

But I don't respond.

I finally finish.

... For a while, nobody moves.

Then-

*Boom*

A door opens at the end of the hall.

People glance from you to the opened door.

You blink. I speak.

**"...Puzzle solved, I guess?"**

* * *

The three of us exit what used to be the Legendary Artifact Room.

...

"...So we all agree to never speak about that ever again, right?"

You and Draco nod.

* * *

There's a statue nearby. It's being rained on. It's likely a memorial of some kind.

It's achingly familiar...

...

...The water that runs down its face is channeled in such a way to look like tears.

...

It has horns.

...

***...I think this is me and Asriel's memorial.**

...

The four of us- Me, you, Undyne and Drago- stare at the statue for a while.

"...What is this?"

"I think it's a memorial to the dead prince. I never knew him- he died years ago- but I heard he was, like, the nicest person ever."

***That's... Accurate.**

...

"...Wait here. I'll be right back."

* * *

You return with an umbrella.

You step forward and walk up to the statue.

The large hole where the face of the statue would be is smooth- Nowhere to reliably put the Umbrella where-

Wait! There's a hole.

Put the umbrella in the hole?

_Yes._

You put the handle of the umbrella in the hole, and-!

...

***Thank you.**

* * *

**PART 3-5: SINS OF THE PAST**

* * *

The three of you continue through the rain. Undyne and Draco are sharing an umbrella, quietly discussing something. You've walked ahead, an umbrella of your own in hand- too much water water could wash off the paint.

You're walking, head down, when the sound of rain hitting the umbrella suddenly stops.

You look up, and-

...Woah.

You'd previously rushed through this portion of Waterfall, not really paying attention. You didn't like the rain.

But, now... You're staring at an incredible view.

The endless expanse of dark cavern ceiling and light crystals creates the illusion of a beautiful night sky filled with stars.

You lower your umbrella and sit down. Your other Party Members follow your example.

Here and now, it's easy to forget. To forget your responsibilities... Your stresses... Your anger... And even your hate.

...

Something is clear, now.

_...Chara?_

***Oh. Yeah?**

_I just... Wanted to thank you again. It's... It's been hard._

***Hey, I never did anything. You did all the work.**

_Yeah, but... I probably would've gone insane a long time ago without you._

***I doubt that... But thanks anyway.**

_No, I'm not done! You've saved my ass so many times. You've made me laugh and cry and you're the first person to make me think, "Hey, maybe there IS another way!" You've done so much for me and you're going to acknowledge it or so help me god._

***...I...**

_You deserve this. This... second chance to fix what you broke, whatever that was, and get a REAL happy end. You deserve it. You got it. And I doubt you're gonna squander it._

***...**

_Chara Dreemurr._

***...That's not my-**

_Yes it is. You loved them?_

***Absolutely.**

_And did they love you?_

***...**

_Answer me. Did they?_

***...They shouldn't have. But they did. I never understood why or how.**

_Then you are officially a Dreemurr._

***...**

_Chara. People miss you. People love you. And you should get that love whether you deserve it or not._

***...**

_Chara-_

***You deserve to know what happened. What I did. What I broke. What I ruined...**

_...Are you-_

And suddenly, you're dropped into a dream.

* * *

* * *

* * *

The surface was incredible.

The wind flowing through your fur... The smell of the air... The endless black expanse above you, dotted with stars.

You feel like you want to cry, you're so happy.

You've only felt like this once before, and that's when you and me got our shared lockets- both of which are being worn now.

***Aw, thanks, Azzy.**

_No prob, Char._

Within the headspace, you feel me smirk at your attempt to sound 'cool.'

_Charaaa!_

***Not even death can stop me from teasing you, Az. Get used to it.**

You just smile and shake your head good-naturedly.

You slowly take this resting time to look at your new body.

Where previously, you had only been about 4'6", barely taller than Chara, now you were taller than even _dad_ at a powerful eight-and-a-half-feet!

So, yeah. That felt good.

The magical power thrumming through you was another thing entirely- You felt like you could build or destroy whole mountains with ease!

(Even if you probably actually couldn't.)

***At least any humans won't stand in our way. Hopefully, they won't be able to... Do anything.**

_Don't worry, C. I have_ zero _intention of dying._

***It's not intent I'm worried about, but that _does_ make me feel better.**

* * *

Looking down at my own dead body is... Unsettling, at the very least.

_So what if you just don't?_

***It's like... An accident happens. You want to look away but you just can't no matter how hard you try.**

_Oh, yeah. I... Guess that makes sense._

* * *

As fun as exploring the surface was, it still had to come to an end eventually. After all, we have family waiting for us.

And so, the village. A collection of stone housing that creates strange geometric shapes and very, _very_ fun obstacle courses.

...The effect was ruined by the humans living there.

The whole place was dirty and rotten.

...That's all I'm going to say on that matter.

Slowly, you carry my body through the village, to the center square.

There, you find a massive patch of golden flowers.

***...I heard these things can grow anywhere, regardless of how well-taken care of they are.**

_Really?_

***Yeah. There's a legend that the builders built over this patch when the town was first constructed, but years later, the flowers just broke through the stone. That makes them sacred or something.**

_Cool..._

***...Heads up.**

You turn around.

There's a human woman behind you. She's holding a bag.

You raise a paw to wave-

She drops it and runs in terror, screaming about a monster.

_...That didn't go well._

***...That doesn't matter.**

_Huh?_

Suddenly, control is wrested away from you. I sling my body over your shoulder.

_Chara, what-_

Your free paw- No, _our_ paw lights on fire.

_Chara, what are you doing!?_

***Waiting for humans to come to us.**

And come they did.

Dozens of them, all surrounding you, reluctant to step onto the flowers for fear of trampling their sacred plants.

You can hear their mutters.

"What _is_ that?"

"Were the legends true?"

"Is that... A corpse?"

"I think it killed that child!"

"Evil..."

"Look at its horns!"

"Is it a demon?"

"Oh god, is it _that_ demon?"

I raise a paw.

_...Chara, stop._

I swing it down.

Fire bursts out, and the flowers begin to burn.

Our eyes are glowing red.

Screams ring out.

_Chara!_

I throw out a paw, and fireballs fly out into the crowd, but they swerve before they can hit anybody.

I growl.

Fire. Swerving. Screams.

_Chara!! Stop!!_

***No. They deserve this.**

More fire. It doesn't hit anybody again.

Most people are running, but some are attacking-?

You feel a fist connect with your stomach-

But I power through, and with a surge of gravity magic, the human is tossed away.

_Chara, stop, this isn't you!_

***This _is_ me. This is _all I am_.**

More fire. More swerving. More screams.

***...Asriel, stop.**

_No._

The fire stops.

***The direct approach it is.**

_What-_

Dual knives appear.

...No. Not big enough.

The knives become swords.

I lunge towards the nearest human.

I swing-

The sword barely misses.

I swing again.

Miss.

Again.

Miss.

AGAIN.

Miss.

***ASRIEL. STOP.**

_I won't let you become a murderer!_

***I ALREADY AM, NOW STOP THIS...**

The whole world freezes.

***AND JUST. LET. ME. WIN!!!**

_...no._

The swords dissolve.

The human man below us stares at us-

And then he's throwing his foot forwards.

It hurts.

A knife enters your back.

An arrow pierces your chest. If you were human and had a physical heart and bloodstream, that would be fatal.

Instead, just more dust.

The world flickers-

And, suddenly, you're outside of the crowd.

_I'm bringing you Home, Chara. Your real home._

You step forwards-

There's a human in front of you. They weren't there a second ago-

They throw out their hands, and dozens of hexagonal shapes made of Green and Orange light fly towards you.

The magic approaches quickly.

You can't dodge in time-

...

It hurts so much.

You stumble, but we refuse to fall.

Another flicker-

And, suddenly, we've left the town.

There's dust slowly flowing off of you in streams.

You can hear me sobbing somewhere in the back of your mind.

You run.

And run.

And run.

All the way home.

* * *

* * *

* * *

You're dropped out of dreaming.

There are tears running down your face, slowly.

"...I'm so sorry."

Undyne and Drago look at you confusedly.

You stand up.

"I need to go."

You run.

* * *

When you come back to awareness, you're breathing heavily, standing on what would normally be the far side of the inconsistently sized gap.

There's a baby duck quacking at you.

(Hey!)

...What?

(Wake up, human!)

Wait-

You sit up.

"Are you... speaking?"

The duck ruffles its feathers.

(Hmph. Glad to see you're awake. And I'm glad you can understand the language of the ducks.)

"Well... Actually I can't. Normally."

The duck looks at you confusedly.

(Well, aren't you a psychic?)

"...Yeah?"

(Then you should be able to understand my language, and that of other animals.)

"...Huh."

You stand up.

"Thanks for telling me. I need to go."

(Hey, wait.)

You stop to listen.

(Did you know you actually teleported over here? Like, a blue portal opened up and you just dashed out of it like there was no tomorrow.)

...What?

"...I've... never teleported before."

(Well, you did now. I guess something must have happened to make you awaken some PSI.)

"..."

You can think of a few moments, but everything really points to the Asgore fight from the last run. Or perhaps your rant at Toriel's? Maybe both?

"Well, that... Clears up a lot. I actually understood a Froggit in the Ruins without Ch- Without a translator."

(Well, there you go.)

The duck prepares to fly off.

(Good luck escaping, human.)

The duck flies off.

You walk off, deep in thought.

***...I'm sor-**

_Shut up, you shouldn't be. You did nothing wrong._

***Okay.**

* * *

"HEY, DUDE!"

You turn around, looking for the source of the distant voice.

"UP HERE!"

You look up, and-

Oh. That is a faraway bridge.

Drago and Undyne are up there. Undyne shouts down.

"I'M GLAD YOU'RE SAFE, PUNK! WE'RE GONNA COME DOWN THE LONG WAY, SO WAIT OUTSIDE MY HOUSE! IT'S THE ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE ME!"

They proceed to leave.

"...Okay then."

* * *

Undyne's house does indeed look like her.

How she managed to get it built you have no clue.

Either way, the other two eventually get there.

"Hey, punk! Why'd you go and run off like that? You had me worried for a while there!"

"...I... Just had an epiphany."

"A what now?"

"A sudden realization. Usually of great truth."

"Oh."

For a while, none of you move.

Then:

"Hey, you two wanna hang at my place for a bit?"

"Yeah!!"

"No, thanks. I... Need to get going. I think I can get the rest of the way on my own."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I know the rest of this place."

"...Well, okay then. Oh! When you get to Hotland, stop by at the lab! Tell Alphys- She's the Royal Scientist- That I said hey!"

"Got it."

You proceed to walk off.

* * *

Neither Spirit nor Human notice the smeared paint on the back of their neck.

Undyne does, though.

At first, she's confused.

Then, well...

She has an epiphany.

"...Kid. Wait here."

"Uh, what?"

"I said _wait here_."

Undyne runs off.

* * *

"Hey, punk!"

You turn.

"I decided that it wasn't safe to let you wander off on your own. So I'm gonna escort you to Hotland instead."

...Okay, that's weird.

"Where's Drago?"

"Dra- Oh, so that's the name you chose for the kid? Yeah, they're waiting at my house."

"That's incredibly suspicious. Did they choose to do so? Or did you force them?"

You stare Undyne in the eye.

She's looking very uncomfortable.

"...Okay, fine, I told them to wait. Happy?"

"Why?"

"...Because... Uh..."

Undyne is looking very uncomfortable.

"...Undyne. Did you hurt them?"

"Wha- No!"

...Somehow, you can just _tell_ she's not lying.

"...Good."

***...That's pretty similar to an ability a certain powerful psychic had, don't you think?**

_Yeah... It is._

Suddenly, Undyne asks "Hey. Can I see your magic?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah. You know, the magic that _all monsters have._ "

"Oh, yeah."

You focus a tiny amount of PSI into a little pellet.

(You don't notice that it's pink instead of yellow.)

Undyne blinks, surprised.

***Hah! Take that, you suspicious asshole!**

You smirk and toss it at her.

It hits her in the leg. It should only do a few HP of damage, 50 at the absolute _most_ -

Her mouth drops open and she begins to clutch at her face, shouting in pain.

_Oh god what did I do-_

"Shit, are you okay!?"

Undyne is groaning. "Yeah... I just..."

She slowly looks up at you.

She stands up.

...

She bows.

_What the hell?_

"I am sorry I doubted your identity, Lord Judge."

"I... I'm sorry, but you're still mistaken? I'm not a judge?"

Undyne blinks.

She frowns.

She tilts her head. Then, she lights up.

"...Oh! I get it. Okay, so, guess what? You're a special type of monster. Like, a really rare type."

"...Really?"

_I'm pretty sure I'm not a monster._

The two of you are walking side-by-side now.

"Yep. So, basically, you are what is known as a 'Judge.' A special, extra-powerful type of monster capable of using the power of 'Karma.'"

"Karma... Huh."

"Yeah. Anyway, whenever a Judge is found, they can go into a special training program where they learn how to control their abilities, taught by the Royal Judge. The most skilled is then made the successor, and once they become the Royal Judge, they'll teach the other Judges just like the old Royal Judge."

"...Is it possible for a human to be a Judge?"

"As far as I'm aware of, no. Why?"

"Well, I guess I just broke nature."

***What are you-**

You smear the paint off your face.

You turn towards Undyne. She's completely stunned.

"I was planning to go through the entire Underground undetected. Nobody would die, I would be free, and nobody would be any the wiser."

You sigh.

"Guess that's just a pipe dream, huh?"

You look up at her.

"You're probably going to fight me now. Just... Tell me one thing. What did you see?"

Undyne steps back. She's staring at you. Conflicted emotions are flitting across her face.

"Uh... I didn't see anything-"

"I can tell when you're lying."

...

"...Wait a second. I don't have to tell _you_ ANYTHING!!"

She's mad, she's _very_ mad-

The spears begin to rain down.

You're running.

The spears are hardly even being aimed. They're just being thrown with little thought behind them.

You keep running.

The spears are easy to dodge.

You barely register when you reach Hotland.

You barely register the slowing of Undyne's stomps.

But you do register them, and you turn around.

Undyne is struggling to stand.

***She's suffering from burnout. Too much magic in too short a time... Or maybe heat exhaustion? Actually, probably both.**

In the end, Undyne is unconscious on the ground.

...

***We should probably get her some help.**

_Agreed._

You awkwardly drag Undyne across the rocky Hotland ground.

* * *

The first thing you do when you see Alphys is shout out "Where's the nearest shower?"

She blinks. "Uh... F-First door on t-the right u-upstairs?"

"Thanks."

You drop Undyne and run off to go wash off the makeup.

* * *

...It feels so good.

***...I can't believe I have to spend the next five minutes looking away from you the whole time. So annoying.**

_Feel free to join me._

***Oh, fuck you.**

* * *

You stare at your disheveled hair in the mirror.

You grab a comb and make a cowlick.

...

***Why does Alphys have a comb? She's a reptile.**

_Maybe the old Royal Scientist left it._

***The Royal Scientists have all been made up of this one skeleton family for generations, according to Asgore. Then again, I've been dead for a while, so. Maybe they died out?**

_...What about sans and Papyrus?_

***...Huh. You're right.**

...

***...You know, I think I just figured out where their third brother went.**

_Where?_

***He must've died in some experiment. Afterwards, sans turned down the position for some reason, and Alphys was promoted. Papyrus... I don't think science is really his thing, so he probably wasn't offered it at all...**

_That's a solid theory. I'll have to ask Alphys._

***Yep.**

* * *

When you return to the main room to see Alphys and Undyne awkwardly flirting, you slowwwwwwwly back out of the room.

Maybe later.

* * *

_...Hey, do monsters have to use toilets?_

***No. Why?**

_Then why does Alphys have a restroom?_

***...Huh. Good eye.**

* * *

Alphys comes to get you while you're looking at the Seaweed-to-Ice cream machine. How it functions, you have no clue.

That must mean it's impressive, right?

You turn towards Alphys.

"...Hi."

"H-Hi! I-I'm Doctor Alphys! N-Nice to m-meet you!"

"You too. Hey, who was the Royal Scientist before you?"

"...What?"

"Answer."

"Oh! Uh..."

...

...

"...I-I c-c-can't r-really r-rememb-ber r-right n-n-now, m-maybe l-l-later???"

"You can't remember? Seriously?"

"Um! Uh! ...Yes."

"...Weird. I'll have to ask sans later..."

"You k-know s-sans?"

" _You_ know sans?"

"Y-Yeah. He u-used to w-work here, I t-think. We... Uh. We s-still t-talk sometimes, eheheh..."

You can tell; She's really nervous.

"...Alright, I gotta go. Make sure Undyne doesn't die. You're welcome for the date _I got you_ , by the way."

"W-Wait!"

But you've already teleported away.

* * *

MTT hotel.

"Wha- That's way too much for a room! Where am I supposed to get that money!?"

***I have an idea. You remember that random snowball in that ice field in snowdin?**

_Yeah?_

***You can farm for G there. Either that or you can steal Ice Cap's hat and make him pay to give it back.**

_Ice cap...? Oh, right. That weird monster with the giant hat made of ice._

***That's the guy. So, whaddaya say?**

* * *

Ten minutes later, you teleport back, a large bag of G in your hands.

You plonk it on the counter.

"Give me a room, I am fucking _dead on my feet right now._ "

* * *

The beds in the MTT resort took up 90% of the rooms.

...At least they were comfortable.

* * *

You're walking out of your room after a solid 12-hour nap when you see, who else, but sans?

"hey kiddo. grab a bite?"

"Yeah, but you're paying, I'm completely broke."

"fine with me."

* * *

The two of you are sitting at the table.

sans is eating ravenously. Apparently having ridiculous power comes with a ridiculous appetite. Or maybe that's just a sans thing.

You, on the other hand, are mostly toying with your food. You don't really have an appetite.

"...so."

It seems sans is done.

"i heard you can use karma. gotta say, that's pretty neat, even if it breaks every known rule of magic pretty much all at once."

"I pride myself on giving no shits about any rules anywhere."

sans nods. "i can believe that. so-"

Before he can ask anything, you interject. "What do you know about the Royal Scientist before Alphys?"

sans's eyelights vanish.

"Thought so."

sans closes his sockets- somehow- and sighs.

"...you're gonna keep on asking if i don't answer you here, aren't ya?"

"Actually, I was planning on saving and loading until you answered. But... Yeah."

sans opens his eyes. The eyelights are dim, but they're there, now.

"okay, kid. i'll tell you my tale of woe. but only if you promise to tell me in future timelines that i have told you this."

"I was already planning on it."

"good."

sans breathes in deep. He breathes out.

"...my full name is comic sans gaster. pap's is papyrus gaster. and the third mysterious bro i told you about was named wing ding gaster."

"Wing Ding?"

"a special type of code that's also technically a font."

"...Okay."

"anyway. the three of us never met our parents. we had an aunt who was royal scientist but she had already made it really clear she was _not_ going to be taking care on any kids. so, we were on our own."

"i took care of pap and g, and in return, they brought in all the cash through various odd jobs. pap was a healer. g was a lab assistant to our aunt who didn't even know who g actually was.... ugh. the point is, we got by. then, everything changed when g brought me and pap with him to the lab. there, we met asgore."

***That guy's got a part in everybody's backstory, doesn't he?**

"asgore, when he discovered us working harder than the royal scientist ever did for less than a tenth of the pay, kicked out our aunt and made g the new royal scientist. at first, people thought it was a dumb decision, until they discovered he was a freaking _prodigy._ "

"A prodigy, huh? Tell me more."

"he was considered to be the smartest monster ever born for a while. he designed the CORE, and even if he didn't construct it single-handedly like the old stories say, he still led the project- with sponsorship from the king, of course."

"if g was famous before the CORE, he was boosted up to _legendary_ level after it. he had followers, fame, and most of all, _money_. i wouldn't be surprised if he amassed a solid third of the royal treasury in his lifetime."

"but, while everybody looked at the CORE as his greatest achievement, everybody always forgot his smaller projects. he invented a special type of equippable blaster cannon that can, almost instantly, be fired off for almost no magic cost. good for someone like me with low stamina but ridiculous magic power."

"either way, g was the best, yadda yadda, story ends there, right? wrong. the glory and fame all went to his head, and he decided he had to invent _time travel._ "

**"Ohh, stories like this never end well."**

"well, actually, in this case, it kinda did. he sent blueprints and construction plans for plenty of human devices back in time to before even the first human fell down. solves many a vexing question, eh?"

***Huh. The inconsistent technology of the Underground always baffled me while I was alive, but now I guess I know why that is.**

"he also, with help from human #3, discovered the time dilation present with the barrier."

"Time dilation?"

"yep. time on the surface is seven times faster than here in the underground. it's how almost 2000 years could pass on the surface, but only about 280 pass down here."

***Wait, I've technically been dead for over _1500_ years!?**

"'course, the source of the dilation _was_ the barrier, so we couldn't exactly use it _against_ said barrier. it all came back to that damned wall... anyway, g came up with another sound idea- travel back to before the war and stop it from happening in the first place. then, there would be no need to break the barrier at all. but that came with its own host of paradoxes, so that idea was out."

"then, he made a discovery- alternate timelines. alternate universes, some would say. he came up with this idea that there was a universe where that world's monsters had already broken the barrier, so we could just replicate that, and hey! we're free."

"but we had no luck with that, either. in every world where the monsters were the same as ours, the barrier stayed up. 'course, some worlds had stronger monsters or a weaker barrier. but those couldn't help us at all, so we had to keep looking."

"eventually, the goal changed. find a timeline- any timeline- where monsters the same as us were free in any way, shape or form."

"g got obsessed with finding the perfect timeline. years passed, and he kept searching, and searching, and searching."

"then, one day, the impossible happened. _he actually found it._ a world where the war never occurred. a world where humans and monsters could live in peace. it was his life's dream to find it, and he did."

"the 'delta timeline.'"

"...then he proceeded to ruin his discovery by trying to freaking _go there._ his idea was that he could negotiate a mass evacuation to that timeline from ours, freeing us from the barrier and sending us to a world where we wouldn't instantly be genocided."

"as you can guess, he failed, and ended up shattering himself, the pieces of his soul scattering across time and space."

"everybody but me and pap forgot him, and that's only because me and pap were caught in the crossfire. pap got the best of it- he lost the ability to heal. small problem, even if it sucked a bit. i got the worst part of the deal."

sans's eyelights vanish and one socket is filled with a cyan-yellow blaze.

His sockets return to normal.

"i used to be able to do this with both eyes. now, my right eye is completely blind. sucks bad. i had to completely re-learn how to do magic. the blasters helped, though. they and pap were proof that i wasn't going insane."

sans sighs and puts his head in his hands.

"so, yeah. that's my story."

He growls in anger.

"i don't even know why i'm telling you all this."

"Because you needed somebody to talk to?"

"...yeah. i guess."

sans gets up and prepares to walk away.

"...i'm gonna be honest. you've come a long way, kiddo. and you've got a lot more distance to go before you're yourself again. but..."

He turns towards you.

He's smiling a little.

"well. i'll save _that_ for next time."

He's gone.

...

* * *

**PART 3-6: SOULLESS**

* * *

Asgore's house is as bland and gray as ever. You weren't really looking forward to having to listen to the monsters tell you that sad story again.

Luckily, you don't have to.

"Howdy!"

It seems it's Flowey's turn to tell a story.

...Wait.

"Hey. Quick question, where are all the monsters that should be here?"

"Well, seeing as there technically isn't a human in the Underground right now, there's no need to tell a story."

Flowey smirks. "You did a really good job of hiding yourself. Maybe too good a job. Now there's nobody here to tell you a story! Oh, whatever shall you do?"

His smile turns way too big to be real. "Looks like 'lil 'ole me will have to do!"

He burrows into the ground, presumably to pop up and continue the next part elsewhere.

Lo and behold, that's exactly what happened.

"Once upon a time, there was a monster. The monster was a happy monster; they had friends, family, and everything they could ever ask for."

"But, one day, everything changed. The monster was betrayed by somebody they loved. In the end, they were nothing but dust on the wind... And on the flowers."

"They should've been dead for good. Asleep, to never wake up again... That's death, isn't it?"

"But then, a scientist decided to do an experiment. What happens if they inject something that isn't sentient... With pure, unfiltered DT energy? The will to live?"

"Of course, the flower they decided to inject just so happened to have a bunch of the dead monster's dust on it. So the scientist ended up bringing back the dead. Yay."

"You don't sound very happy, Flowey," You say as you grab my Knife and Locket.

Flowey looks at you strangely before continuing.

"Yeah... Because the monster didn't come back as themselves. They came back as a flower. A _soulless_ flower."

Soulless...?

"No SOUL, but the will to live... It's hell. The monster that had been revived didn't like hell. They tried to leave it the only way they knew how."

"At the time, Hotland's lava seemed quite inviting."

You shiver at his nonchalant tone.

"But... At the last second, the monster realized something. What happens if you die without a SOUL...?"

"The monster didn't want to find out. So, as they were burning up within the lava, even as they were already dead, they screamed to the heavens, 'No! I refuse to die! I don't want to die!'"

"...And then they woke up. Like it was all a bad dream."

Flowey began to smile sinisterly.

"As you've probably guessed, this is me I'm talking about. And... Well..."

His smile fell.

"...I'm also talking from experience when I said that the power to Reset is a corruptive one. At first, I used my power to get a better ending. I stopped suicides, I saved lives, and... Well, I helped people."

His face turned bitter.

"I got no genuine happiness from it. See, that's what happens when you don't have a SOUL. You can't feel love or hate. Fear, sure- Guilt, no. Joy, yeah- Happiness, nah. Frustration, yep- Anger, nope. It's... Not a nice feeling. But... One of things you CAN feel is curiosity. And satisfaction."

You can see where this is going.

"'What if I broke up this couple?' 'What if I burned down this building?' 'What if I killed this person?'"

Flowey's grin is practically splitting his face apart.

"Gonna be honest, here? It _liberates_ to be this way. To kill and hurt and destroy, just to see what'll happen... It's so much easier than feeling pesky _emotions._ "

"Easy isn't always the best way," You interrupt as you unlock the gate.

"For me, easy is the _only_ way."

"Maybe because you haven't tried-"

" _Shut. The Hell. Up._ You have _no idea_ how hard I tried to feel. You have no idea what I tried to do, what I've done, what I plan to do... Or at least, what I _planned_ to do."

"Huh?"

"I had plans. Designs. So many ideas... I've already done them all. So, I waited a few years for the Underground to change. New people and scenarios to play with, you know?"

You shrug.

"Yeah, well, apparently I waited _too_ long, because suddenly, _you_ came and took my ability from me. How you didn't have it before the Underground, I'm not sure... But maybe you died from the fall, and that awakened your ability when you refused to die like I did?"

"Actually, I probably died a few minutes earlier. But... Yeah. I guess that, after I died, the d- Something transported me here and gave me just enough strength to live again... With help."

"Hmmm..."

Flowey's looking at you strangely now.

"...You're not alone in there, are you?"

"Congratulations. You're the first person to guess that since sans."

***Oh, just telling everybody now, are we?**

_I decided it was best if I told the truth. He won't be mad when he does inevitably find out. Besides, he hasn't lied once during his story._

But story time was over. You'd reached the door to the judgement hall.

"Hey. One last thing."

You turn. There's an expression that looks vaguely like hope on his face.

"The person in your head. What's their name?"

Oh, this was too perfect.

"None-ya."

"None-ya?"

"None-ya business."

You can distantly hear sans laughing from inside the hall.

Flowey just has a look on his face that I can't really describe.

(It looks like this. :| )

You continue on to the hall. You can distantly hear Flowey's screeching.

***Guess he doesn't like puns.**

* * *

sans is smirking when you enter the hall.

"that was a good one, kiddo. we'll make a punster outta you, yet."

"Lucas hated puns. Can't wait to pull some on him when I see him again."

sans is smiling even bigger, now. "that's the spirit, kiddo."

His face takes on a more thoughtful form.

"...hey, kiddo. i've got an offer for you."

He smiles. "how'd you like to be the royal judge?"

"...What?"

"congrats. you're the judge now."

He's gone.

...

You're smiling a little despite yourself, as well.

* * *

Asgore is humming when you enter the garden.

Looks like he's watering his flowers.

He hears you enter, but doesn't yet turn.

"Howdy! I will be with you in just a moment... The flowers still need watering."

...

...

...

"Done!"

He turns. "Now, how can I..."

His jolly face falls.

"...Ah. You're the one Alphys called about. The Judge."

You nod. "sans literally just made me Royal Judge, like, five minutes ago. So... I guess this is a revolution now."

Asgore chuckles sadly. "Yes, that does sound like something sans would do."

His face falls. "...You know what we must do."

"Yeah. I do."

"...It's a beautiful day outside," Asgore says wistfully, looking up at the artificial sunlight.

"It's actually cloudy." You respond.

Asgore keeps staring. "Birds are singing..."

You look up as well. "You sure they aren't bird monsters?"

Asgore looks at his garden. "The flowers are blooming."

You kick the dirt. "I've disliked these flowers ever since one of them looked at me funny."

Asgore gives you a strange look. "...Children like you should not be forced to fight for their lives."

You shrug. "Well, I'm pretty sure children like me should _also_ not be half-robotic, but. Hey."

Asgore produces a long, drawn-out sigh. "What is the human world coming to...?"

"Well, I'd be dead without these, so. Silver linings."

Asgore nods solemnly. "I suppose."

For a while, nobody moves.

Then, Asgore walks out, gesturing for you to follow.

You do so.

* * *

"This is the barrier. This is what is trapping us all down here."

"And if you win, it'll be gone, right?"

"...Yes."

Asgore raises a hand. Fire appears for a brief moment as he breaks the seal on the SOULs.

Seven jars rise from the floor. Only six are full.

Each one has a different colored heart in it.

Forest Green. Dark Blue. Reddish-Purple. Dark Yellow. True Orange. Cyan. 

"Eve." You point to the green SOUL.

"Elizabeth." You point to the blue SOUL.

"Jacques." You point to the Purple SOUL.

"Austin." You point to the Yellow SOUL.

"John." You point to the Orange SOUL.

"Hope." You point to the Cyan SOUL.

"And me." You point at the small red and yellow heart floating in front of your chest.

"A nameless weapon."

Asgore, somehow, does not look surprised.

"We've been here before," he says.

"Yeah."

...

The seventh jar sits there, empty, taunting you.

Your heart feels numb.

You look Asgore in the face.

"...It's judgement day."

And so it was.

Asgore draws his trident, and prepares a fire attack.

You aim at Asgore.

***Sorry, dad.**

You fire off a Karma Ω with all your power poured into it.

**-3499**

He drops his trident, staring at you in shock and pain.

He falls to his knees. His eyes are unfocused.

"...So that is how it is."

"Yeah."

"...Very well then... Take my SOUL, and leave this place wretched place."

"..."

***Well?**

**[FIGHT]**

**[MERCY]**

_...That's a new option._

...

You step forward and reach for something in your pocket.

You pull out a piece of Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie.

You hold it out to him.

"...Why?"

"I'm honestly not sure."

He shakily takes it in his hands.

He slowly and carefully takes a bite.

...

He smiles genuinely. It's not a look you've seen on him before.

You feel warm inside.

Then the pellets appear.

Asgore's eyes widen- he grabs you- he throws you out of the ring of pellets- they hit him- his face widens in pain-

And then he's dust and his SOUL shatters.

"̷̢H̸̲̃m̴̨̓m̶͚͊.̵̥̾ ̸͎̋I̴͘͜ ̷̯̉w̷̛̹ȧ̶̡s̵̠̆ ̴̢̈́h̸͇͛o̸̼̐p̴̥̕i̸͚͐n̷̝͘g̴͎̐ ̶̱̓y̵̱͆o̶̢͑u̸̢͂ ̵̜̚h̷̨ä̵̙́d̸̤ ̵̲̑l̸͇̕ḛ̸̄ä̴̮́r̵̢̉ņ̶̃ȇ̶̱d̵̞̓ ̸̬͛ẏ̷͜o̷̻͑ụ̵̀r̷̰͑ ̴͇̋l̴̥͐e̶͍̔s̸͐͜s̴̟̈o̷̗͝n̵̥̈́ ̶̰̍f̴͎̄ȑ̵̦ö̷̼m̵̩̊ ̸̣͑m̷̹͑ŷ̴̙ ̸̬̂ś̷̗t̵̠̆o̸͈̓ř̷͕y̶͔̔,̵̝̿ ̴̖͗b̷̹͆u̶̦̚t̸̡̆ ̵͓͗I̴̮͛ ̸͇̑s̴̳̎ŭ̸͕ṗ̵̣p̵̥̄o̷͚͘s̸̖̓ę̴̾ ̷̼̊n̴̞͘ọ̵̎t̴̲͠.̵̥̌"̴̪̈́

Flowey's voice was booming through the barrier room.

"̶̘̔D̶̨͘o̵̦̔n̵̲͝'̵̱͐t̴̨̀ ̶̪̚ÿ̵̩́ǫ̸͊u̴̳͠ ̷̠̃g̸̮͊ẽ̸̬t̷̛̫ ̷̗̽i̸̗͐t̶̳̏?̷͎̈́ ̴̺̄Į̴̌n̷̗̉ ̴̓ͅt̷̤̒ḧ̵̬́i̸̇͜s̵͕͒ ̶̳͐w̵̥o̴̯̓r̸̝͝l̸̖̊d̴̨̉.̷̱͝.̷͔̈́.̸̗̉"̵͍̐

You turn.

Flowey's there.

There are six glowing hearts orbiting him.

...Fuck.

"̶͖̒I̴͖͠T̴̝̉'̶̗̓S̴͓̎ ̶̯K̵̏͜Ì̶͙Ḻ̸̎L̷̞͆.̶͎̇.."̴̖̑

The SOULS are moving into him.

"̷̥̄O̵̲̽R̸̻̽ ̸̺̒B̷̜̌E̵̔͜ ̶̯̒K̵̛̜İ̷͖L̵͍̂L̶̻̇Ĕ̵̖D̶̼̈!̷̡̕"̴̛̤

The world goes white. You close your eyes to stop yourself from going blind, but it's still too bright, and the light is going through your eyelids-

* * *

**PART 3-7: YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE**

* * *

When you open your eyes, the world is dark. An infinite, formless void sits before you.

There's nothing there.

Just a void...

...Wait.

There's a golden star in the distance.

You walk towards it.

You touch it.

**Menu opened. Action?**

"Uh... Load?"

**Error: File not found.**

"Not found? But that means..."

"̴I̷t̸ ̴m̷e̷a̷n̸s̶ ̸t̸h̴a̴t̷ ̴I̴ ̵D̴E̵L̸E̵T̴E̴D̵ ̵I̶T̸!̸!̴"̴

You freeze and spin around.

A massive version of Flowey's face is floating there, in the middle of the void, with an expression of pure, unfiltered _joy._

"̷H̸o̶w̵d̸y̶!̵ ̵I̸t̸'̵s̵ ̷m̶e̴,̷ ̴F̸L̴O̸W̶E̵Y̶ ̸t̵h̶e̸ ̶F̵L̶O̵W̵E̸R̶!̷"̴

***That ASSHOLE.**

"̷I̸ ̸o̵w̵e̸ ̷y̶o̵u̸ ̵t̴h̸e̷ ̸B̸I̷G̴G̷E̴S̵T̴ ̴o̷f̶ ̸t̵h̴a̶n̷k̷s̶!̸ ̵Y̶o̸u̸ ̷f̸i̶n̴a̷l̶l̸y̸ ̶m̸a̸n̷a̷g̸e̵d̶ ̷t̵o̵ ̶g̸e̵t̴ ̶A̸s̶g̴o̶r̷e̴ ̶t̷o̴ ̷r̸e̷v̷e̶a̶l̶ ̷t̸h̷e̸ ̶S̷O̵U̵L̷S̸!̵"̷

...What?

"̵Y̵o̶u̸ ̵k̷n̸o̸w̷,̴ ̵n̴o̷ ̵m̷a̶t̷t̵e̴r̷ ̴h̴o̸w̴ ̵m̵a̴n̵y̴ ̵t̴i̷m̴e̵s̴ ̵I̶'̵v̴e̵ ̴t̶r̵i̴e̶d̵,̵ ̸n̴o̶ ̴m̷a̵t̴t̷e̴r̸ ̶h̷o̴w̵ ̷m̷a̴n̴y̴ ̷t̴h̵i̷n̶g̷s̶ ̴I̴'̷v̶e̶ ̴d̴o̶n̶e̵ ̴o̶r̸ ̸s̸a̵i̸d̶,̴ ̴h̸e̸'̸s̷ ̶n̸e̴v̸e̸r̴ ̶s̸h̷o̴w̷n̵ ̶m̶e̴ ̷t̴h̷e̴ ̴H̴u̶m̴a̸n̶ ̶S̸O̴U̶L̸S̷.̸ ̵I̸ ̸h̵a̸d̶ ̵t̶o̸ ̸m̵a̵k̷e̴ ̷d̸o̸ ̶w̸i̴t̸h̶ ̷j̴u̵s̶t̶ ̴o̷n̵e̸ ̷a̷t̷ ̷t̶h̸e̸ ̷v̶e̶r̵y̵ ̸m̵o̶s̶t̷ ̷w̵h̶e̴n̵e̴v̸e̸r̵ ̵a̶ ̸n̵e̶w̷ ̷h̵u̴m̵a̶n̷ ̸f̸e̵l̷l̵ ̸d̷o̵w̷n̵!̶"̵

...Oh.

"̵B̴u̶t̴ ̸n̴o̶w̷.̷.̷.̷ ̵H̸o̴l̶d̶ ̷o̴n̷ ̴a̵ ̴s̷e̵c̴o̶n̷d̶,̸ ̶a̴c̸t̸u̸a̸l̸l̵y̸.̵"̵

His face disappears for a few seconds, and when it reappears, there's little to no static in his voice.

"Hah! Sorry about that! You could barely understand me, could you?"

The apology was not genuine at all.

"Well, anyway! I had to hunt humans myself. I could never get my non-existent hands on the ones Asgore already had... He had those under a sealing spell only he could break. If he died, the SOULS would be destroyed, too! So, as you can tell, not easy."

"But I've been pulling strings for years, you know. I've only been around to manipulate three of the humans that have fallen down here, but MAN were they fun! So new! Such distinct personality! And oh, it feels _so good_ to have a SOUL inside me again... I can feel them pulsating and wriggling... It's such a good feeling. I can't believe you humans _live_ like this!"

You clench your fists.

"Oh, you're probably wondering what I did to your SAVE file. Well... It's MINE now. The power of the Reset... Any time without it is too much time! So, yeah. You should know you stand basically zero chance against me."

You step forward defiantly. "I don't care."

Flowey raises a brow, before he starts laughing joyously. "HAHAHA! Wow... You really are an idiot. But I guess that's determination for you, huh?"

"Stop trying to make small talk and start trying to kill me."

"...Rude."

Flowey's face vanishes.

The void flashes red, and you get a glimpse of the massive... _Thing_ in front of you.

Another flash. Another glimpse.

Another flash. Another glimpse.

Another flash. Another glimpse.

The darkness clears and HOLY SHIT.

In front of you is a massive amalgamation of mechanical parts, plant matter, and a... Television, for some reason.

Flowey's face appears on the television. Of course, it's a super-extra-mega-creepy version of it where his eyes open sideways.

His massive, alien mouth opens and...

Oh, god...

The LAUGHTER.

It takes almost all of your willpower to keep yourself from covering your ears.

You're scared... No, You're terrified. But you don't shake.

You adjust your helmet.

You draw your sword.

You equip your long-forgotten hand cannon.

You get into attacking stance.

The first attack comes.

Pellets are firing at you- Vines are flying past you- Massive beams of light- Bombs are falling- You can barely avoid everything-

And then you get hit.

It hurts.

You keel over in agony- 

Then you die.

* * *

The void flashes red, and you get a glimpse of the massive... _Thing_ in front of you.

Wait... Shit!

The battle starts anew, almost instantly.

Vines, pellets, _flamethrowers_ , and- You can barely avoid everything.

It's a literal Bullet Hell.

A pellet clips your arm-

_PAIN._

But you keep moving, even as you're screaming.

***What do we do!? He's nearly invincible! Even if you could attack** **him-**

But all you hear is 'attack him,' so you rush forward, leap, and make a massive, clean cut through Flowey's left arm.

It heals instantly, leaving a tiny scar.

**-1**

"...Shit."

Then you die.

* * *

This time, you focus on avoiding the attacks and not on finding an opening.

If you can just find a weak point...

***Wait! What about the TV!?**

Experimentally, you fire a shot-

**-17**

He took more damage! Progress.

Then you die.

* * *

Karma Ω does about 200 damage the first time, but after that, he only takes about 50.

It seems his only sin from this timeline is killing Asgore. Damn technicalities.

You die again.

* * *

***He's part mechanical, so maybe PSI Thunder will hurt more?**

_NO._

***...**

_...Only as a last resort._

* * *

You've lost count of the number of deaths you've had so far.

***This _really_ isn't going well! We need help, but how!?**

Flowey's TV face glitches.

***...Wait. I have an idea!**

_Well, do it, and fast! I'm not sure how much more damage I can take!_

***Okay. Ahem... HELP!!!!**

* * *

There are massive bullets shaped like toy knives everywhere.

The cyan silhouette of a small child is in front of you. At their chest is a cyan heart. Their limbs are being puppeted like a marionette.

You're dodging-

You get hit- again, and again-

One more will kill you, and you brace for what is either death #23 or 25.

...Wait.

Before the knife hits, you shout at the top of your lungs:

"HOPE!!"

* * *

_You're falling down a mountain._

_You know it's going to hurt, but you can't do anything-_

_You hit the ground._

* * *

The knife vanishes.

You look up.

The child is free.

Their form is more defined, and you can see their face now.

They're a little girl. About seven years old.

There are tear tracks on her face, but she's smiling.

You feel your wounds heal.

You hear a faint "Thank you."

* * *

You're back in the fight with Flowey, but your progress hasn't been erased, _and_ you're fully healed.

He blinks. "Huh. What did you do...? Eh. Nevermind."

The fight continues.

But now you know. If every SOUL goes the same way, then you have six oppurtunites to heal.

A massive shift in the balance of the fight.

You dodge and roll with renewed vigor.

You swing out at a vine, cut it, and-

**-2**

His defenses dropped a little!

Flowey doesn't even notice the difference, however, and he continues attacking.

You continue dodging. But you can't dodge forever, and you get hit- Once- Twice-

_Now!_

***HELP!!!**

* * *

The bullets, this time, are boxing gloves.

The child is orange.

You're about to shout, but a punch from a glove interrupts you, and you have the wind knocked out of you.

You breathe in and whisper (Because there's no way you're shouting) "J-John."

* * *

_Spears everywhere. She called you her friend, but now you were trying you best to kill each other, because Monsters killed four other kids and you had to do the right thing and be brave-_

_But you doubt yourself when you drive a spear through the eye of the fish-girl you had called 'friend'-_

_She retaliates and there's a spear in your chest._

* * *

The gloves vanish.

You look up.

The child is free. They're a boy, about thirteen years old with curly hair and a big nose.

He smirks, and speaks in a heavy 'New York' accent:

"Good job, bud."

Your injuries are gone, just like that.

* * *

Flowey is really confused when you return, this time around.

"Okay, what the _heck_ are you doing!?"

"Honestly, I have no clue but it's working so I'mma keep doing it."

And so it was.

* * *

Blue was next to answer Chara's calls.

You're trapped in a tight corridor made of star-shaped bullets. There are ballet shoes falling on you. You can barely dodge, but eventually, you call the SOUL's name.

"ELIZABETH!!!"

* * *

_You stare down at yourself. You... You had just killed a person. They... They were attacking you, sure, but they were down and you finished the off anyway-_

_You feel like you want to puke-_

_You tear off your now-dusty tutu and run-_

_You don't see the rock you trip on or the river that you fall into._

_Water fills your lungs._

* * *

The shoes and stars vanish. The next SOUL is free.

You loom at the SOUL.

They're a girl, about fourteen, wearing old-fashioned dance clothes that look like they could have come from the Victorian era.

...Actually, they probably do.

The child bows to you, ballet-style.

You bow back, all injuries gone.

You are on a _roll_!

* * *

Purple comes next.

Unlike the other SOULS, this one isn't attacking with bullets, but rather _words._

...At least, bullets shaped like words.

Hate. Destruction. Death. Murder. Ruin. Slaughter. Terror.

Despair. 

"JACQUES!!!"

* * *

_You'd already fought Asgore four times, and you'd come very close to death each time. If it weren't for well-timed LOADs, you'd probably be dead. You're not sure if you can LOAD post-mortem, and you're not sure if you want to find out._

_All it took was a moment's distraction. A second of bad timing._

_The trident crushes your skull. You learn you can't LOAD from death._

_Unfortunate._

_You spend your last seconds of consciousness calling out to Miss Toriel- the first person since Austin to treat you like an actual sentient being._

_She was the one that named you, after all._

* * *

Love. Creation. Life. Birth. Protection. Giving. Courage.

Hope.

The child in front of you is black, has super-short hair, and ratty clothes that heavily contrast a fancy-looking notebook and glasses.

He looks at you, adjusts his glasses, and says simply:

"Keep up the good work."

* * *

Next up, Green.

...

Oddly enough, this one wasn't even attacking you, just staring at the ground dejectedly.

You step towards them.

"Eve," you say simply.

* * *

_"Mister Dreemurr? I heard you wanted to see me."_

_..._

_"...Mister Dreemurr?"_

* * *

She looks up at you. She's crying.

She smiles a little despite herself.

You offer a hand.

She takes it.

* * *

Last but not least, Yellow.

Just like the previous SOUL, there were no attacks- Just a child sitting in front of you.

This one, however, stands confidently.

The strings are barely there, too.

You're about to call-

"Hold'ff on the name fer a sec' there, pardner."

You pause.

He turns towards you.

His face is already completely clear.

Though his mouth is a perfectly straight line, there's a shine in his eyes that betrays a smile.

"...I reckon you already freed the others?"

You nod.

"...Heh. Yeh know, I told 'em that you could do it. They didn't believe me at first. But... They came 'round when you started callin'."

You shrug, even though it's not a question.

"The two of us are united in Justice, pardner. That power yeh call Karma? 's the real power of Justice. I couldn't use it, cause I didn't have a way to channel it 'n all. But yer a special case... Yer stronger than us all. You got a power beyond comprehension, and I'm not talkin' 'bout the time shit."

You raise a brow at the swear.

"You've been through more in the past three years of yer life than most adults go through in their whole darn lives. You're special, pardner- You can do great things... With the proper trainer."

"...But who?"

"I reckon yeh already met 'im."

Ness.

"...What do you mean?"

"I wouldn't be 'prised if yeh found a way to break the barrier. That wall's the source of so much trouble... But I doubt even someone like you could do it alone."

"..."

"Yeh get what I'm sayin', pardner?"

"...I think I do, Austin."

* * *

_"I reckon that bullet'll keep being fatal for the next... I'd say, three minutes?"_

_There was a bullet suspended in a gravity field. There was a tall skeleton with a lab coat. And there was you, pistol in hand, standing behind him.  
_

_"Plenty of time to give your King what he deserves. He's responsible for four human deaths so far- one of them being an old friend of mine. Don't worry- Once I'm done, the barrier'll be gone, the sinners'll be punished, and-"_

_The skeleton released the field. The bullet jetted through the lab coat, between his ribs, and straight into your chest._

_For a moment, nothing moved. Then, you fell into a sitting position._

_The skeleton caught you before you could land on your back._

_There was a whirlwind of emotions on his face._

_"W-Well played, D-doc... Well played."_

* * *

A smile.

"Then go save the world."

* * *

Flowey stares at you, a strange expression on his face.

You look to your left. Three children.

To your right. Three more children.

And directly behind you, you feel my presence.

Austin shouts out.

"Alright, everyone! Just like we practiced! Follow Liz's lead!"

Elizabeth nods, a smile on her face.

***Time to get the narrative juices flowing!**

The file is balanced between you and Flowey- Neither of you can load now.

Sure, all the damage you'd dealt to Flowey thus far was gone, but it was a small amount anyway.

Now? Now was time to fight. Fight for the surface, for the monsters- For the world.

You will FIGHT.

And you're filled

with

D E T E R M I N A T I O N.

Music begins to play, and the Souls begin to sing. _  
_

_We are the lost Souls,_

_we had a shared goal,_

_To escape and reach the surface!_

_But all of our hope was taken away,_

_On six very sad and dark days!_

_But that was then, and this is now,_

_And now is the time to fight for those you love!_

_The whole world's collapsing, but that doesn't matter,_

_**Because you're filled with determination!** _

"What the hell is going on!? Why can't I load!?!?"

You smile.

"It's simple, Flowey. I called for help..."

You- no, _**WE**_ ready our Sword/Toy Knife/Boxing Glove/Empty Fist/Notebook/Frying Pan/Revolver/Real Knife.

We're ready.

"And somebody came."

We lunge forward and The Finale begins.

Austin fires off three perfectly aimed shots from our hand cannon- 100 each- a beam of light is shooting towards us- Elizabeth dodges in a perfectly executed Assemblée- The sword vanishes and John swings a fist, puncturing a hole in Flowey's left arm- We pull back-

And together, we use _the attack._

PSI Hope α.

**-654**

Flowey screams, and whether it's in pain or fear or anger or all of them you're not sure.

Bombs are flying down onto you- Most of us want to rush, but Eve stops us- the bombs explode and a clawed hand is slammed down where we would have been- We rush forward- We _stab-_

**-357**

We pull out, leaving a massive gash in Flowey's front- It's struggling to heal- _It's working_ \- 

Flowey's two arms fly together in order to crush you between them, but suddenly, Jacques _slows down time and we rush to escape_ and time is normal again and Flowey is confused and we slash at the claws-

**-233**

**-201**

**-274**

The only reason he isn't taking thousands of damage is because of his high defense.

Elizabeth _leaps_ in a perfectly executed backflip and the vines that were meant to pierce us miss completely- We start to charge up- PSI Hope β-

**-899**

Flowey screams again. The Karma is inter-timeline now. He's seeing and feeling everything he ever did wrong. 

The truth hurts most of all.

He's taking damage over time, now- but he powers through and hundreds of pellets and bombs begin to descend on the arena.

We can't hope to dodge them all, but Eve calls up a PSI Shield Ω-

The entire attack is reflected back.

**-1755** **Total**

Almost four-fifths of his HP is gone.

Austin asks the question.

_Shall we finish this, everybody?_

_...Yes._

_Yeah!_

_...Mmhm._

_Indeed._

_Yes._

***Absolutely.** **Partner?**

_Let's kick his ass._

PSI Hope Ω.

Flowey's eyes widen as he sees the rainbow-colored attack flying towards him.

But there's nothing he can do.

**-3742**

The entire world goes white.

* * *

Flowey sits before you.

He's just a flower again.

He's in a terrible state. His petals are singed, his stem has cuts on it, and you're pretty sure he has the flower equivalent of a black eye.

You aim.

PSI Karma-

You feel a hand on your shoulder.

You turn around. You see Eve.

She's smiling softly.

She vanishes.

**You realized the power of PSI Kindness **α.**  
A highly effective party-healing move. Eve's last gift to you before moving on to the afterlife.**

...

"...Leave, Flowey."

"...You think I've learned anything from this? No. No I haven't."

"That's not what I'm saying. I said to leave."

"...If you let me go, I'll kill you."

"..."

"I'll kill everyone."

"..."

"I'll kill everyone you love."

"..."

"I!..."

"..."

"I'll..."

You lean down and offer Flowey a hand, glowing green with PSI Kindness.

"..."

You don't move.

"...Why?"

You don't move.

"Why are you being so... _Nice_ to me?"

You do nothing.

"...I don't understand."

You do nothing.

"...I _can't_ understand."

You do nothing.

"...I... _Just can't understand!_ " He shouts.

...

Flowey ran away.

You sigh and stand up.

You turn around-

...

The barrier is behind you.

It's _behind_ you.

You're on the other side.

...

You walk away from the barrier and onto the surface.

* * *

**PART 3-8: PSYCHIC TRAINING**

* * *

It's cloudy, again.

You stare out at the vast landscape.

...

You're not sure how to feel.

Flowey pops up beside you.

"...Hey."

"Hey."

It's all that is said.

...

"Hey, you got any threes?"

You look over to your left.

Frisk, Ness, and Paula are sitting on the ground playing a card game. Harmony is watching intently from a carrier crib nearby.

"Uh... Go fish."

"Dammit!"

Paula smirks.

"...Can we join?" You say quietly.

The three of them pause and turn towards you.

Frisk raises a brow.

"Hey. You're late. What kept you?"

Then, they notice Flowey, who is looking strangely at Frisk.

"...Oh. Okay, that makes sense."

They turn back to their card game.

"'Feel free to join us,' is what Frisk means."

You glance at Flowey, shrug, and sit down next to Frisk.

Eventually, Flowey pops up on Frisk's other side.

* * *

"...Hey, are these three Humans friends of yours?"

"I've only known them for about three minutes. Ten if you count the last Reset."

"...But they know about the...?"

"Frisk could do it before I could."

"...Huh. Okay."

You go back to playing cards.

***Hey. Ness has a four.**

"Hey Ness, got any fours?"

"...Yes."

"Hah! I win again!"

"I swear, he's cheating."

"How do you cheat at Go Fish?"

"By looking at other people's cards?"

"..."

"...Stop judging me."

Harmony gurgles happily.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. A 200 year-dead cowboy child asked you to break a barrier that's keeping an ancient race of monsters trapped underneath it... And he asked _you_ specifically because the both of you have 'Justice' in your souls?" Ness asks eloquently.

"Pretty much, yeah," You respond. The six + me of us are going back down the mountain, to Ness and Paula's car. Flowey is riding on your shoulder.

"...Okay, sure. I've seen weirder."

"How?"

"Trust me. You don't want to know."

"I do!" Flowey shouts from your shoulder.

"...A cosmic entity of pure rage, despair, and regret decided to kill humanity so it started making random inanimate objects attack people. Also, there were aliens," Ness deadpans.

"...Huh. That _is_ pretty weird."

* * *

"Hey, can I take a nap in the car?" You ask.

"Sure. Try not to drool on the seats. Harmony does enough of that," Paula responds.

Harmony looks very proud of that fact.

* * *

When you get back to Ness and Paula's apartment in the city of 'Fourside,' (Flowey watched in fascination the whole time as the party drove through,) there are an extra two men sitting at the kitchen table.

(Apparently those two visit Ness and Paula for dinner twice a week. It's easy to do so when you can teleport.)

The first is a blonde man, wearing square-shaped glasses. He's tampering with what seems to be a smartphone. He's wearing a suit with what looks like a bunch of oil stains on it.

The second man is bald, except for a single batch of hair that ties into a ponytail. He's wearing a casual T-shirt and sweatpants, even though his bearing could only be described as _royal_. He also has a smartphone, though it looks like he has no idea what he's doing with it.

Both of them look up and stand up when you all walk in.

"Nice to meet you all," the blonde man says. He has a heavy British accent. "I'm Jefferson Andonauts."

"And I am King Puustahandinopila. But... You can call me Poo."

Frisk blinks in surprise, before: "Wait, Poo's _royalty!?_ Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I... Assumed I told you before? In the last timeline thing, I mean."

"Well, this is my first time hearing about it!"

"...Sorry?"

Frisk just groans and sits down on the couch.

...

"So. A king, huh?"

Poo turns towards you, looking up at Flowey on your shoulder.

"Indeed."

"...Hmph."

"Flowey here doesn't like royalty very much."

"Truly? Well, I am sorry for whatever they did to you."

Flowey looks really, _really_ uncomfortable.

"...HeyCanILeaveTheRoomPleaseAndThankYou"

Flowey releases your shoulder and falls flat on the ground.

"...I didn't think this through."

* * *

"It's official. I hate you all."

Flowey is now in a pot. He is now the Floweypot.

Ness just shrugs. "A lot of people hate me. A lot more people like me. It balances out."

* * *

You, Frisk, and Flowey all stare at the bed in the guest room.

...Bed being singular.

***Hey, I already technically sleep in the same bed as you. Besides, I desensitized myself to that sort of thing a long time ago.**

_Is that because you used to share a bed with Asriel?_

***...Maybe.**

_..._

***He was _really_ cuddly, okay?**

You sigh and return to the dilemma at hand.

...

"I have an idea. How about _neither of us_ sleep on the bed?"

"If you can't have it, nobody can?"

"Yep."

"Well, if neither of you are gonna use the bed then, uh, dibs, I guess."

...

"Did... Did _Flowey_ just call dibs?"

"Yep."

* * *

In the end, Flowey sleeps on the bed, and you and Frisk both sleep on the floor, each of you wrapped in large quantities of blankets.

* * *

Day One of Training.

"So, you said you know how to teleport?"

"Yeah."

"And you can just... Create portals without moving?"

"...Is that weird?"

"It's an incredibly complicated PSI technique, one that took years for me to master."

"...So am I stronger than you?"

"Skill and strength are not the same thing. You have better training, certainly- But I'm way, _way_ more powerful."

"How much more?"

"...You see that mountain over there? Say the word and I'll blow it up."

"Please don't."

"Fine by me. I'd probably be in a coma for a few days afterwards, anyway."

* * *

Jeff is looking at your arm.

"I must admit, the craftmanship on this robotic arm is..."

"Incredible?"

" _Abysmal._ If you weren't Psychic, and didn't have that minor healing factor, you likely would've slowly broken down the bone that made up your shoulder until the nerve connections broke and you lost all feeling in the arm, as well as lost control over said arm."

"...Huh. Noted."

* * *

A late-night conversation between me and Frisk.

**"...And then he snaps his fingers and deals almost _four thousand damage_ in a single attack! And he could've done it again- easily! Of course, that's when we had the SOULS with us, but..."**

"Hey, C? Earlier you mentioned that the SOULS talked to you and your new partner. But... They never did to _us_. Why is that?"

**"Probably because you weren't Psychic."**

"Ah."

* * *

Flowey properly meets Harmony.

"...So this is what a human baby looks like? It's ugly. I don't like it."

"Goo."

"...Stop looking at me like that."

"Ga."

"...Seriously. Stop."

"Ehgagehgoga."

"...I hate you."

"No."

"...You're right, I respect you too much to hate you. Somebody who gives as few shits as you do? I respect that too much."

"Shit!"

"...Did I just teach a baby to swear?"

"...Shit?"

* * *

Day Three of Training.

It's Paula's turn to train you this time.

"Elemental PSI is the bare-bones of PSI. No complicated techniques- No intense meditation- Just pure energy manipulation."

"Energy manipulation?"

"Heat is energy. Hence, fire and Ice. This also means there's such thing as PSI Torrent, which is a water attack. I can... Sort of do it? I can only do the Alpha level, though."

"...Thunder always came easy to me. Then I got PTSD or something and now, every time I see electricity, I'm back... There."

"Hm. I'll be sure to avoid that... Though I was kind of hoping to teach you the Thunder-Ball and Thunder-Tackle."

"Yeah, I want nothing to do with that. For now. Maybe I should add therapy to my list..."

* * *

Frisk shows us their magic.

"So, basically, I can turn objects back in time? Or 'lock' them so they stay consistent between Loads and Resets."

"...I understood the second part, but not the first."

"Okay, let me show you."

...

"Did... Did you just _un-rot_ that apple!?"

"Yep."

"...Incredible."

* * *

Day Seven of Training.

You used to consider yourself a great swordsman.

Then, Poo proceeded to completely kick your ass in ways you didn't even know it _could_ be kicked.

"I am, honestly, impressed with your skill. Your potential is great- incredible, even. Your problem is that you treat your sword as if it is a club, that no matter which way you swing it, you will always deal the same amount of damage."

But you were breathing too heavily to respond.

* * *

Day Eight of Training.

"I honestly thought that fire would come easily to you... After all, it _is_ pretty similar to thunder in some ways," Paula explains.

You frown. "That's... Actually what I'm worried about."

"...Really?"

"...I'm worried if I do put my all into fire, it'll make electricity instead. Every time I see electricity, I feel like I die again- painfully. It's...Not pleasant."

***Understatement of the year, partner.**

"I can guess. Luckily, Fire and Thunder come from different places. Fire comes from intense emotion- Thunder comes from intense focus. In addition, Freeze comes from intense... emptiness? Yeah, emptiness. Freeze is drawing in energy instead of throwing it out, after all."

"...Intense emotion. Got it."

...What makes you feel intense emotion?

...

Sparks fly.

The fire pit is lit.

"I... Was that you?"

"Nope. All you, kiddo."

"...Yes!"

* * *

'PSI Love' discussions.

"What you call PSI Love is actually known as a 'Psychic Gift.' It's a type of technique or attack unique to the person."

"...But both me and Lucas can use it?"

"Well, here's the thing. You said yours became PSI Justice and then PSI Karma, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, it's possible Lucas has a different 'true form' of PSI Love. Yours was likely unlocked when you fully realized your true power as a... 'Judge.' You are a 'Judge,' right?"

"Yep."

"Well, this opens up two possibilities. Either Lucas is also a Judge, and PSI Love is the unawakened form of PSI Karma, or PSI Karma is your thing, and when Lucas awakens his PSI Love, it'll be something else entirely."

"...I think both are possible."

"Of course, it it's the second option, that means PSI Love is the base form of every Gift. Which... Could make sense. Your attack feels similar to mine."

"What's yours?"

"...Promise not to laugh?"

"Oh, this'll be good."

"It's PSI Rockin'. I named it as a kid and I am embarrassed about it to this day."

"...I am struggling really hard not to laugh right now."

* * *

**You've realized the power of:**

**PSI Fire **α and β!  
**** ****A wide, sweeping attack made of fire. Good for taking out rows of foes. Remember** ** ****,** ** ****some foes will resist this element.** **

****PSI Freeze α and β!  
A powerful single-target attack. Keep in mind, not all foes are weak to this element.** **

****PSI Kindness β and γ!  
** ** **A highly effective party-healing move. Eve's last gift to you before moving on to the afterlife. Removes negative status effects as well, depending on the level.**

* * *

"So, wait. You don't know your _own_ name, but you know everybody else's name?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the programmers wanted to keep my name under _super_ lock and key to prevent me from trying to become a person again. Well, screw those guys."

* * *

Ness and I.

"So, today, I want to start today by talking to your partner. You know- The person inside your head."

"But-"

***It's fine.**

I take control and give a brief bow.

**"Greetings, Ness. I am Chara... But don't tell Flowey that. He'll recognize my name."**

"Got it. So, I have a question to ask you about possession. Is it possible to split control evenly between the two of you?"

**"I can take control of individual limbs at a time, but... We can only move as one whenever our intent and emotions line up pretty much exactly."**

"Interesting... How many times have you done this?"

**"Once- No, twice. The first was against Asgore. My partner wanted revenge for the six other kids, and I wanted revenge because Da- Asgore was supposed to be better than that. Either way, motives and emotion."**

"And the second?"

**"Flowey took the Human's SOULS and tried to break our Determination. We woke them up and the eight of us proceeded to kick his ass."**

"...And he's still here.... Because?"

**"You'll have to ask my partner. Definitely wasn't my idea."**

_Let me talk._

"I let him go because, even if he says he didn't, I think he learned his lesson. He just... has a different bearing when compared to now."

"...Eh. Good a reason as any. Anyway! I was gonna tell you that you could try sharing control evenly, but I guess you've already figured it out."

"...I guess we have."

* * *

Therapist.

"...But the programming wouldn't let me stop attacking. I could keep on throwing out half-hearted attacks, but as long as I was still standing, I would keep attacking Lucas. That's when I figured out the loophole- It didn't tell me _how_ to attack- Just that I _had_ to. So, you remember that lightning-reflecting Badge that I told you Lucas had?"

"...I see. You intentionally shot yourself with the largest blast of lightning you could..."

"Yep. Now, whenever I try to use PSI Thunder, I freeze up and stop being able to use it. It's not like being completely frozen, though- I just can't use Thunder."

"Well, your self-diagnosis of PTSD was very accurate, even if it is quite mild compared to most cases."

"Thanks. Now, how do I fix myself?"

"I don't think you understand... PTSD isn't something you 'fix.' It's not something that can be removed. It sticks with you for the rest of your life. All you can really do is learn to live with it and overcome it."

"...Damn. Is it wrong that I was hoping for an easy way out?"

"Not at all. It's perfectly natural to feel that way."

"...So, what do I do?"

"Well, you've already isolated the problem. The next step is to figure out how to stop yourself from freezing up whenever you try to use lightning attacks."

"So do I just continually try until I figure out how?"

"Heavens, No! That's probably the _worst_ possible idea!"

"Let me guess. You were Ness's therapist, and that's why he recommended you?"

"Yes. Ness was an absolute train wreck of bad coping mechanisms."

***There's no way he could be as bad as me.**

"Ehhh... I've probably seen worse."

* * *

Not taking advice.

***But... Didn't your therapist tell you this is _specifically_ what you're supposed to _not do?_**

_Therapist, Schmerapist. If it works, it works._

Ten minutes later you're a crying mess.

***...What did I tell you?**

* * *

"Hey, Flowey. How've you been?"

"Surprisingly good. It's so much _fun_ spying on people! Nobody expects the flower to be alive! Hah!"

"...You do you, I guess. Hey, are those _leaves_ on your stem?"

"Yep. I met this nice old lady in this nearby town? She's been giving me fertilizer and stuff. I'm definitely going to find her again in the next run."

"Cool."

* * *

Day Eleven of Training.

"You are learning... *Huff...* quickly! I told you... *Huff...* you had potential!"

But you were breathing too heavily to respond.

...You're smiling a bit, too.

* * *

****You've learned the skills:** **

****Grand Slash I and II!  
A powerful sword attack that damages multiple grouped-together foes.** **

****Spin Attack I and II!  
A wide attack that damages a single row of foes.** **

****Fatal Blow I and II!  
A weak attack with a chance to instantly one-shot the opponent.** **

* * *

Therapist... Again.

**"...And then I proceeded to try and kill as many Humans as possible. Azzy stopped the attacks from hitting anybody... I used to think he betrayed me- And he kinda did- But honestly? He was doing the right thing. I couldn't see that until now."**

"...You two are way above my pay grade."

**"We take pride in that fact. Don't we, partner?"**

"We really shouldn't, but we do."

A long, drawn-out sigh.

* * *

Day Thirteen of Training.

In the middle of a swordfight, Poo suddenly speaks up.

"...I have a question for you. Or, more specifically, for your partner."

You lower your own sword. I take control.

**"Yeah?"**

"You are over One Thousand years old, correct? Did you... Did you meet any psychics while you were alive?"

**"...Once. I actually thought it was magic until I met my partner here, but... I don't want to talk about it."**

"...It's fine. The confirmation is enough for me."

* * *

Family (+2) Dinner.

"...Ness. A restaurant this fancy is very out of character for you."

Paula, Ness, and Harmony are on a family dinner. You and Frisk are accompanying them.

...The restaurant he chose is in Summers. The wonders of teleportation never cease.

"Well, I thought we'd do something a little bit... _Different_ this time."

He walks over to the door and pushes it open.

There's no customers inside. Just you, the party, a band, and some waiters.

"I called in some favors. We haven't really done anything romantic in a while."

Frisk's jaw drops.

"OhMyGod is that the _Runaway Five!?_ "

Indeed, it was. Lucky and Gorgeous, the leaders of the band, smile at Frisk's reaction.

Frisk spins around and stares at Ness angrily.

"You knew the fucking _Runaway Five_ and _didn't tell me!?_ "

Ness is smirking. Paula is trying her best to look stern but is clearly trying her hardest not to laugh.

Ness turns around and holds a hand out to Paula.

"May I have this dance?"

Paula smiles and hands Harmony over to you.

"Indeed, you may."

She takes his hand.

"...Guess I found out why Ness wanted the time-proof video camera," Frisk mutters, but they still hold it up anyway, their hands glowing red.

"'Can't help falling in love,' by Elvis Presely," Lucky says, a massive smile on his face.

The band begins to play as the two of them take the floor.

_Wise men say,_

_Only fools rush in,_

_But I, can't, help,_

_Falling in love! With! You!_

They're dancing.

_Shall I stay?_

_Would it be a sin?_

_If I, can't, help,_

_Falling in love! With! You!_

They have eyes only for each other.

_Like a river flows,_

_Surely to the sea,_

_Darling, so it goes,_

_Some things... Are meant to be..._

They have massive smiles on their faces.

_Take my h_ _and..._

_Take my whole life too!_

_For I, can't, help,_

_Falling in love! With! You!_

They touch foreheads.

_Like a river flows,_

_Surely to the sea,_

_Darling, so it goes,_

_Some things... Are meant to be..._

For a moment, you see their SOULS. They're beating in sync.

_Take my hand..._

_Take my whole life too!_

_For I, can't, help,_

_Falling in love! With! You!_

They share a kiss.

_For I, can't, help,_

_Falling in love! With! You!_

...

Seeing this display of pure, unfettered, true _love..._

You feel like you want to hold onto this moment, this _happiness_ , forever.

It fills you with more than just Determination.

**File SAVED.**

**...**

**You SAVED something else, too.**

**For the first time, the weight of the helmet on your head feels wrong.**

* * *

It's time to Reset.

Everybody is standing around you and Flowey.

"Look, we're not going to be, like, flying away or anything. It's just an instant Reset."

"Flowey, stop being insensitive."

Ness rolls his eyes. "Look, we're going to be seeing you off whether you like it or not. So... Like it."

You smirk. "Okay, fine."

You turn to Frisk. "You remember the Morse Code I taught you? Why'd you want to learn it, anyway?"

Frisk nods. "I'm planning on broadcasting my location to Ness and the others next time. In other runs, they found me with the residual energy of the Resets. Now, with this magic, I can make them find me earlier."

You nod. "Got it. Also, make sure Ness doesn't do anything stupid until I get back."

"Wha- Hey!"

You turn to Jeff.

"Thanks for the maintenance tips. Also, _propose to Tony already_."

"My pleasure. And, yes, I plan to."

You turn to Paula and Harmony.

"I don't have much evidence of it, but I'm pretty sure Harmony can remember the Resets. So. Uh. If she starts saying words she shouldn't know, blame that."

Paula smirks. "I figured that bit out already. Also, Flowey? Be more careful next time. You've already taught Harmony half the swear words in the English language by now."

"Oh, I plan to teach her _even more!_ "

Paula smiles even as she shakes her head.

You turn to Poo.

"Thanks for teaching me the way of the sword, _sensei._ "

"...What does that mean?"

"...Oh. Right. Uh... What's the Dalaam-ese word for teacher?"

"...Just for that, I'm not telling you."

"Petty revenge. I respect it."

You turn towards Ness.

"...Make sure Frisk doesn't do anything stupid until I get back, okay?"

"Oh, come on!"

"I got it. I'll keep a look out for your family, like you asked, as well."

"...Thanks, Ness. For... Everything."

"Anytime. Don't make the same mistakes I did, got it?"

"Understood."

You step back and look at Flowey, who is perched on your shoulder.

"You ready, _bud?_ "

"...Yeah. I am- Wait, was that a pun?"

"...Maybe."

Flowey screams. Everybody laughs.

You smile.

"...One last thing."

You reach up...

...

And remove your helmet.

You stare out into the night sky.

...

You feel... Free.

* * *

**[RESET]**

* * *


	5. More than Pacifist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The culmination of everything they've learned.
> 
> It's time to save the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end.

* * *

**PART 4-1: ONCE MORE, WITH PASSION**

* * *

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**REBOOTING**

**MASKEDMAN.EXE ACTIVATION STALLED.**

**ERROR MESSAGE:**

**> Fuck you.**

* * *

The first thing you see upon waking up is the small dot of sunlight peeking through the cavern ceiling far above you.

...You feel... _Something_... stirring within you.

Something new.

You stand up.

Flowey pops up beside you.

"Howdy! Everything go well?"

"...Yeah. No errors or anything."

"Yeah, I was worried, 'cause you were asleep for a bit longer than last time."

"...Makes sense, I guess."

The stirring is stronger... You know what you must do.

You reach up and remove your helmet.

You place the helmet in the middle of the flower patch.

You draw your sword...

And stab it downwards into your helmet.

There's a loud screeching of metal on metal as the blade pierces the top of the helmet. But once it's through, it smoothly enters the ground below.

...

It's like a gravestone.

You pull off your jacket and toss it to the side. You do the same with your gloves.

You don't remove your pants because you still have dignity.

You turn towards Flowey. There's a massive smile on your face.

"I'm ready."

* * *

sans was having an... _odd_ day.

Sure, it started out fine. Pap woke him up with his usual volume, he ate some cereal, he bought some cinnamon bunnies afterwards to fill him up, and he traded puns with his door-buddy. 

Then, the promise came. He wasn't all that sure about it, but... well, it was hard to refuse her, and even if he didn't know her name...

Well, she enjoyed bad jokes, so that was really enough for him.

...

He really needed to raise his standards.

So, he was walking back to town, deep in thought, when suddenly, his phone played the *doo-doo-do!* that played whenever a notification hit it.

He opened the home screen and... Oh.

Over _four thousand_ notifications.

...Shouldn't he be panicking?

...

...Instead, an odd sense of hope fills him.

He looks up at the cavern ceiling.

He smiles.

He's still smiling, even as he makes a shortcut to his machine room.

* * *

***Froggit approaches. What do you do?**

"Hey. What's up?"

(...Hello?)

"Yeah. My name's... Uh... Locke. That's my last name, at least. I don't know my first."

(...You're weird.)

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

* * *

"Oh! I... Was not expecting... Well, greetings nonetheless! I am Toriel, caretaker of the RUINS."

"Hey, Toriel. My name's Locke... Or at least, that's my last name. I don't know my first yet."

She raises a brow at that, but decides not to comment.

"...Well, It's nice to meet you, Locke. I do hope you are alright. The Underground can be a dangerous place for humans."

"I don't see how. I've already made, like, three friends."

"Truly?"

"Yeah."

"So, you are unhurt?"

"Yep. Also, before you ask, the metal arm doesn't hurt."

"The what- Oh... That?"

"Yep. Hey, do you have a place I can stay at for a bit?"

"Yes, I do. Follow me, my child."

* * *

**FRISK #6 - RUN #1 - LOAD EVENTS: 0**

_the new frisk is an adult. which is... uh. bad._

_but... it gets worse. they also have a gun. yeah. a gun. they say they have it because they're a 'police officer,' which, from what i can tell, is basically like the surface version of the royal guard._

_so. that's a thing. at least she seems to like papyrus._

_oh! that's also new. this is the first frisk to have a confirmed gender. i never got around to asking the others..._

_either way, i'm not actually entirely sure if this frisk can SAVE or load at all. i was considering asking her, but..._

_ugh. it's still weird referring to a frisk with a proper gender term._

_in other news, pap's really excited. he almost accidentally spilled the secret while frisk was hiding. luckily he managed to cover it up in time, but i think frisk is still suspicious._

_eh. nothing i can do._

_or maybe i'm just being lazy... whatever._

* * *

Toriel's house is the same as ever. This time, though, you actually got to be awake and aware of your surroundings when you entered! so that's new.

When Toriel shows you the room, you practically _leap_ into bed. For some reason, you're always really tired at the start of runs.

You fall asleep. You can tell Toriel is looking at you.

* * *

When you wake up, there's a pie again.

Thank god.

You, again, don't eat the pie.

You, again, walk out of the room, pie-on-plate.

"Hey, Toriel."

"Oh! My child! I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah. Hey, where's the tinfoil?"

Toriel blinks in surprise. "Why would you need..."

She glances down at the pie in your hands.

"...Were you not hungry?"

"No. I wasn't."

"Very well. I believe I have tinfoil in the bottom drawer in the kitchen..."

"Thanks. I'll use that."

***You're doing things pretty similarly to last time. What's up with that?**

_Trust me. Things'll get different soon._

Before you walk into the kitchen this time, you turn to Toriel and say with a large smirk, "I bet this Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie is the absolute best. I'll have to try it later."

Toriel stares at you, a strange look on her face as you enter the kitchen.

* * *

***Are you _trying_ to get found out!?**

_Yes._

***...Oh.**

_I want her to kind of know about you. Like, I'm not gonna tell her outright... But I'm gonna drop a million hints._

* * *

"Greetings, Tori."

"Greet- er, hello, my child. What... Did you call me?"

"Tori. Toriel's kind of a mouthful."

"...Very well."

* * *

"Hey, Toriel, do you have any chocolate?"

"...Yes, I do. But... I'm..."

"Saving it for somebody? I think they'd want me to have it."

* * *

File SAVED.

You put on my sweater.

"Hey Toriel, how do I look?"

"..."

Toriel looks to be near tears.

"...Was this too much?"

* * *

**File LOADED successfully.**

* * *

You put on my sweater again, but don't remark on it.

It goes better. Toriel frowns, but doesn't say anything.

* * *

"Hey, Toriel. I found this plastic knife on the balcony outside. Can I keep it?"

"...Yes."

"Cool. Thanks."

* * *

It's been almost three days.

***What's your game here?**

_You'll see._

* * *

"...Tori. I have something kind of important to say."

"Yes?"

"...I need to leave. The Ruins, I mean. It's important- Barrier related stuff."

"How do you know?... No. I... Must do something-"

You block the doorway.

"...Please move, my child."

"No. Not until you say yes."

"...Move."

"I have a job to do. I have mistakes to make up for, and people to save."

"..."

Toriel effortlessly pushes you out of the way.

She walks past you and down to the basement.

"...That didn't work as well as I'd hoped."

***What _did_ you expect?**

* * *

"This is the exit of the Ruins. Through here, you will find the rest of the Underground.

...I am going to destroy it."

"Why?"

"No Humans will be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs."

"...You know I can't do that, Toriel."

She winces.

"You've lost a lot. I understand that. But I can help. I can fix this. I can free everybody."

"I will not you sacrifice-"

" _That's not what I mean!_ I can save _everyone._ Including myself."

Toriel is staring at you.

"...I made a promise."

Toriel closes her eyes. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

"...Fine then."

...That's not an accepting tone.

"Prove it to me. Prove to me you are strong enough to fulfill your promise."

Fire fills the room.

You sigh.

You raise a hand.

PSI shield α.

All the fire that struck your shield vanished. The rest went off to the sides.

Soon, all that was left was a very bewildered Toriel.

She scowls and throws out more fire, more forcefully this time.

Time to improvise.

PSI Torrent α.

The water douses the fire and splashes Toriel.

Toriel's fur is damp now.

"...Oh. Sorry. I know it takes forever for the fur to dry, so-"

"Why?"

You blink. "What?"

"Why are you... Pretending to..."

"Toriel."

She looks you in the eyes.

You step forward.

You wrap your arms around her.

_Chara, red eyes?_

***But-**

_Trust_ _me._

Your eyes begin to glow with my presence.

"Don't worry, Toriel."

You look up at her face and into her eyes.

Her breath hitches.

You smile sadly.

"I've got a friend to help me."

Toriel sobs and holds us close.

* * *

**PART 4-2: THE PUZZLER**

* * *

Of course, before going to Snowdin, you needed to prepare.

Toriel had vanished somewhere after letting you go. She was nowhere in the house, and you weren't going to search the rest of the Ruins for her.

Instead, you... Kind of looted her house but not really.

You ate the piece of pie, for one- You're not sure if it _could_ go old, given it was Monster Food, but you weren't taking any chances.

You took a new piece of the new pie Toriel baked that morning.

You also checked her room-

SCANDALOUS!!!

_...That's her sock drawer._

***SCANDALOUS!!!**

You also read more of Toriel's diary. It's only skeleton jokes up to a certain point.

Earlier on, from before she met sans, there are entries about other things. They're all pretty mundane... Though one of them is relatively telling.

_'A Flowerbed is beginning to grow where I buried Chara. I am sure they would be quite happy with this.'_

***...Huh. Guess we know how I got here, then.**

* * *

You check the toy box in Asriel's old room.

...You find a whoopee cushion.

...

**=)**

* * *

You stand before the door.

You're wearing a backpack with an extra sweater, a T-shirt for Hotland, a flashlight, some Pie and candy for healing (Because they both seem to have enough sugar to count as a PP heal as well,) The Ribbon and Plastic Knife that belonged to Hope, and a phone from Toriel.

(After the fight, you had made sure to ask her to keep in touch. She just looked at you and left the door-chamber. You're... not sure if she actually will.)

...You're ready.

Your travel through the door.

* * *

The hallway that had been present last time was gone now. You're not sure why that place only appeared for one run.

Either way, you've entered Snowdin Woods. sans isn't waiting for you.

Good. You can't wait to zing him.

You're walking down the path.

**SNAP.**

You try your hardest not to flinch.

You fail.

You keep walking... A little faster, now.

You know it's sans doing a scare tactic, but you can't help but be scared. It's _meant_ to be scary, after all.

You keep walking forward.

...You stop.

**"H u m a n."**

**"Don't You Know How To G r e e t a n e w P a l ?"**

"Not really a _new_ pal, is it," You mutter quietly.

sans pauses before continuing.

**"Turn around... and S h a k e m y h a n d."**

You turn around.

You stick out a hand. (You're trying your best to conceal a smirk.)

sans accepts, and-

_pffptpbthtthtbppthtbb..._

_pffptpbthtthtbppthtbb..._

_pth._

_pth._

...

"...Did we both try the same thing?"

"think it was my idea first, kiddo."

You both burst into laughter.

Papyrus appears.

"HONESTLY, THE TWO OF YOU ARE SO INFANTILE."

You laugh harder.

* * *

"...And that's why I was gone for a few days after the end of my run. So, Yeah," You say as you grab John's Tough Glove from the box.

"...training, huh? can't say i blame you..."

"INDEED!!! I AGREE COMPLETELY WITH YOUR PHILOSOPHY!!! PERHAPS, ONE DAY, YOU MAY REACH A LEVEL OF SKILL CLOSE TO THAT OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!"

"Hah! Thanks, Papyrus. So, in other runs, you said you had puzzles..."

* * *

"GREETINGS, HUMAN!!! IT IS TIME FOR YOUR VERY FIRST PUZZLE!!!"

"Okay... Where is it?"

"IT IS HERE, YET YOU CANNOT SEE IT!!! THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE!!!"

"...Electricity? Uh. Papyrus. Electricity is dangerous to humans. And... I'm half-robotic. So. It's _extra_ dangerous to me."

"BUT... I THOUGHT YOU LIKED USING ELECTRICITY MAGIC- ER, PSI???"

"Yeah, but it doesn't come _out of_ me! I draw it from the natural static electricity that fills the air everywhere."

"...OH."

"...Look. I'll do your other puzzles, but anything that has to do with electricity, I will _not_ do."

* * *

"YOUR SECOND PUZZLE - WELL, I SUPPOSE FIRST - IS CREATED BY SANS!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS, AND HE HAS YET TO TELL ME, BUT HE SAID HE CREATED IT PURELY FOR YOU!!!"

"trust me, kid. this one's a classic."

It's a table with an answer sheet and a booklet on it.

"...It says this is an... S.A.T.?"

***sans got a copy of the fucking _S.A.T.!?_**

_What's so bad about it? It's just some... Math..._

...You have no idea how to complete anything on this sheet.

"...sans."

"yeah?"

"Who is this meant for?"

"high school graduates, i think."

"...Fuck you, sans."

* * *

"THERE ARE TWO DOORS IN FRONT OF YOU!!! ONE OF THE GUARDS ALWAYS TELLS THE TRUTH, AND ONE OF THEM ALWAYS LIES, AND ONLY ONE DOOR LEADS TO SALVATION!!!"

"...Who told me this?"

"UHH... ONE OF THE GUARDS, I GUESS."

"Which one?"

"...THE RIGHT ONE???"

Your face grows smug.

"...WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT FOR???"

* * *

"HELLO, HUMAN-FRIEND!!!"

"Oh, call me Locke. It's my last name."

"...LAST NAME??? ARE YOU ROYALTY!?!?"

"Oh, no. On the surface, everybody has last names."

"...SO ALL HUMANS ARE ROYALTY!?!? AMAZING!!!"

"...Heh. Never change, Papyrus."

"WHY DOES EVERYBODY KEEP SAYING THAT???"

* * *

It's a note from Papyrus.

***Papyrus impression time. Ahem...**

**HUMAN!!! ENJOY THIS HAND-COOKED SPAGHETTI BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!! (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS ACTUALLY A TRAP, DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU WILL BE SO BUSY EATING, YOU WILL NOT EVEN REALIZE YOU ARE NO LONGER PROGRESSING!!! NYEH-HEH-HEH!!!)**

_...He even wrote out the laugh..._

* * *

"HUMAN. IT IS TIME FOR YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE."

He points at his computer, sitting there in the snow. It's covered in Band-Aids.

"FIX MY COMPUTER, PLEASE!!! IT BROKE YESTERDAY, AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX IT!!! I TRIED TO APPLY BANDAGES AND SNOW TO THE WOUNDS, BUT IT SEEMED TO ONLY MAKE IT WORSE!!!"

"...Papyrus?"

"NHYES???"

"...Nevermind."

* * *

***Silently thank God for Jeff Andonauts and his Tech lessons?**

_Yes._

***You silently thank God for Jeff Andonauts and his Tech** **lessons.**

* * *

"hey, kid. i know pap told you that last thing was the 'final challenge,' but i got one more thing for ya."

"Okay. Hit me."

A physical bone appears and bonks you in the head.

"...Not literally, sans."

sans is laughing his non-existent ass off on the floor. Looks like the challenge is off.

* * *

You make a quick stop at the store next to the Inn to buy John's Manly Bandanna.

* * *

"HUMAN!!! IT SEEMS... UM... YOU APPEAR TO HAVE COMPLETED EVERY ONE OF MY CHALLENGES AND PUZZLES."

"You're welcome."

"...I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO NOW."

"...You wanna hang out at your place?"

"SURE!!!"

* * *

...I'm not sure me or the author of this story could do the Papyrus date justice so neither of us are even going to try.

* * *

You come out of Papyrus's room feeling... Something.

It's definitely not Determination.

But it is... Something.

***You got 'Papyrus's greatest creation!'. It's spaghetti, predictably. At least this stuff is actually edible. Heals 100 HP... Somehow.**

* * *

"Hey Pap, can I stay over for a day?"

"VERY WELL, MY HUMAN FRIEND-AND-HANGOUT-BUDDY-WHOSE-LAST-NAME-IS-LOCKE!!! YOU MAY TAKE THE COUCH!!!"

"...The floor's fine."

* * *

Experimentally, you tried to sleep on the couch for a bit.

...

You didn't even last five minutes before you went back to the floor.

How Papyrus- Hell, how even _sans_ can stand that thing you have no clue.

You do end up finding 30 G in it, though, even if it doesn't make the couch any less jangly (Somehow.)

* * *

**You have: "1 message."**

_"Hey, Toriel. How you doing? Not too bad, I hope. I know you probably aren't ever going to hear this, but... I mean... Ugh. I just... I know I was only with you for three days, but... You gave me something I hadn't had for three_ years _before you, and that's a Mom. I... I just miss you, okay?_

_..._

_God, I'm such a sappy idiot... Just... Stay comfy, okay? I promise you, the barrier_ will _fall. And I_ will _be alive to see it._

_...I..._

_..._

_You don't need to call me back if you don't want to. Just..._

_..._

_Oh. Our mutual friend says 'Hi.'_

_Bye, Tori._

**Beep.**

The sound of a quiet sob.

* * *

**PART 4-3: TRUE KARMA**

* * *

"Hey there."

"Oh! Yo! Are you new in town?"

"Just visiting some old friends. Hey, I heard you wanted to meet Undyne?"

"Heck yeah I do! But... How'd you know?"

"...You talk about it. All the time. To everybody."

"...Yeah! I guess that's true! So, you were saying about Undyne?"

"Well, I'm going to be heading to the Capital soon, and I'm gonna go through Waterfall, which is where Undyne is now. Wanna come with?"

"Sure!"

* * *

"I like Waterfall a lot. It's so calming."

"Me too, Yo! I come here often to try to meet Undyne."

"...How have you not drowned yet?"

"Uh, What?"

* * *

"SHH! Look! It's Undyne!"

"Yeah. I can see her. I have eyes."

"I know, haha!"

* * *

Papyrus was uncomfortable. Undyne, while normally very loud and not even remotely subtle, had this strange _mode_ she went into that Papyrus called 'Human-hunting' mode.

It was... Kind of scary. 

Scratch that. Very scary.

He, slowly, walked towards his rendezvous point with Undyne. He had no idea what to do! Normally, with Frisk- at least according to sans and the few memories he has- He would ask them what they were wearing, tell Undyne, then give subtle hints that he was actually helping them.

But now? This was a completely unprecedented situation! He was supposed to deliver a message from Human-Locke but how could he do that without giving too much away!?

...Hmm. This seems like something sans would be good at...

Aha! That's an idea! Just do what sans would do!

Operation: Deflect and Play Dumb, BEGIN!!!

"HELLO, UNDYNE!!! HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS FINE MORNING???"

"Cut the act, Papyrus. Where's the human?"

"...WHICH HUMAN??? THERE ARE A LOT OF HUMANS, AND I ALSO DO NOT KNOW THE SURFACE VERY WELL. PERHAPS BE MORE SPECIFIC???"

Undyne just stared.

...This wasn't going well. But! He could recover!

"Papyrus. Tell me. _Now._ "

"TELL YOU WHAT???"

"Where the HUMAN IS!!!"

"WHICH HUMAN???"

"THE ONE IN THE UNDERGROUND!!! Oh my god, you're even worse than sans today..."

Haha! Success! Though... That was pretty specific... How to beat that?

Wait! Loophole! They'd already captured six humans!

"BUT THERE ARE MULTIPLE IN THE UNDERGROUND!!! WHICH ONE OF THOSE???"

"THE ONLY ONE THAT HASN'T BEEN KILLED YET, YOU... You..."

...What?

"...What?"

Papyrus was eerily quiet.

"...Uh. I mean-!"

"Undyne. Have you... Have you been killing humans?"

...Please don't let it be Please don't Please don't Please don't

"Uhh... Of course not!!! Ha! What a... A crazy question!"

That was such a bad cover-up, even Papyrus could notice.

And he did.

"...Undyne. Why?"

"..."

"Undyne. Answer me. Please."

"..."

...Oh gosh...

"...I need to go."

"Papyrus, wait!"

**Papyrus ran away.**

* * *

"Papyrus, wait!"

But he was already gone.

Undyne stares where Papyrus just was.

She slowly turns and walks away stiffly, as if on autopilot.

...

***...What did we just watch?**

"...Yo, what _was_ that?" Not-Yet-Drago whispers quietly.

You feel anger coursing through you. You should go up there and give her what she _deserves_ -

No. That's not justice. That's anger.

...You'll have to give her the biggest verbal scolding of her life later. For now...

"...I don't think she's in a very good mood right now. Let's... Move on. We can see her in another part of Waterfall."

"...Okay."

* * *

"Drago... Yeah. I like it!"

"Glad to hear it. Hey, by the wa- LOOK OUT!"

You tackle Drago. The spear barely misses you both.

"Oh My God, I am SO sorry-"

You turn and stare at Undyne with a venom in your glare that not even _you_ knew was possible.

"...Uh. Yo. Can I get up now?"

You release Drago, not taking your eyes off Undyne all the while.

Even though you're barely less than half her height, Undyne looks cowed at your look.

You turn and walk away, grabbing the edge of Draco's sweater and dragging him off.

If you were in a better mood, you would laugh at the role-reversal taking place when compared to other timelines.

...

You leave Undyne staring at the ground, lost in thought.

* * *

"...Y-Yo, what... What just happened?"

"..."

"Hey, Locke? Are you-"

"Please... Don't."

"...Okay."

The two of you walk in silence for a while.

* * *

***You got the Umbrella! Rated #1 weapon by a certain Hatted Girl. Not... Actually that effective. Better used for blocking rain.**

* * *

_"Behind you."_

"...Whaddaya think that means?"

"I have an idea."

You wait.

...

Nothing happens.

"...Guess I was wrong."

* * *

You find Elizabeth's tutu and shoes.

You take them.

* * *

Waterfall without Undyne is... Unsettling.

Logically, Drago should fill the silence. The tenseness of Undyne chasing you had, although been stressful, kept you alert.

But, knowing _where_ Undyne was supposed to appear, but her just... _Not..._ Was probably even worse.

Then, you were on the bridge where Undyne was supposed to attack you from below on.

And there she was. Standing on the upper bridge, right in your path.

"HUMAN!!"

Drago looks at you and raises an eyebrow.

You nod.

Their mouth opens in an 'oh' motion.

Then they start to stare at Undyne, a strange look in their eyes.

"I will not allow you to use that captive monster as a shield anymore!"

"Shut up."

Undyne freezes. Drago looks her in the eye.

"This guy is my friend, and you're being a real _jerk._ "

"B-but- Weren't you-?"

"You attacked _us_ first!"

"I attacked _him!_ You weren't supposed to be there! You were-"

You interrupt. "They were in your way?"

Undyne looks to you.

"I used to think like that. I used to look at people as either obstacles or weapons or keys or whatnot."

You shrug. "I wasn't a good person then."

Undyne growls. "Then-!"

" ** _I wasn't. Fucking. Finished._** "

***...Damn, did you just infuse PSI into your _words_?**

Undyne stares at you for a few seconds.

"...Undyne. Why do you want to be the one to kill me?"

"Huh?"

"Any old monster could kill me, and that'd be that." (Not really, but she doesn't need to know that.) "Monsters'd be free, humanity would die, and all that jazz. So why do _you_ have to be the one to kill me at any cost?"

She's staring at you.

"...It's personal, isn't it? There's... Something that makes you want to kill me personally. Something that happened to you."

She's shaking, now.

_Drago, this is Locke. I'm talking to you with telepathy. You need to RUN. NOW._

Drago freezes for a moment. They turn their head to stare at you.

You nod, side-eyeing him.

Drago runs.

"...A human took your eye. Didn't they?"

Undyne screams and spears rain down.

You were confident in your ability to dodge. You did not expect to be able to be surprised.

And, technically, the spears were fine. You dodged them.

But they also damaged the bridge the two of you were standing on.

Loud creaking noises.

The bridge broke.

The two of you fell into the abyss together.

(Distantly, you heard Drago shouting your last name.)

* * *

_**I called for help...** _

_**And somebody came.** _

_"It sounded like it came from over here..."_

_"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you?"_

_"It's alright... Here, get up!"_

_"Hey, what's your name?"_

_"...Chara, huh? That's a cool name!"_

_"My n a m e i s_

You can hear me sobbing in the back of your mind.

* * *

**PART 2-4: THE UNCRYING**

* * *

A large part of Undyne didn't actually expect to open her remaining eye again.

After all, there didn't seem to be any reason. If she survived the fall, the human wouldn't look for her- And, even if it did, it would be purely to finish the job.

...

Then she wakes up to the human dragging her through the dump.

"...Wh-Why...?"

"'Cause it's the right thing to do."

She falls unconscious again.

* * *

When she next wakes up, she's inside her house.

She can feel bandages wrapped around her body... Luckily, none of them are are in obtrusive places, but that still just begs the question of who?

Did a monster kill the human and save her? She would have to thank them if they did.

She slowly tries to sits up and winces-

"Hey. You're finally awake."

* * *

You stare at Undyne.

She stares back.

You smirk.

She scowls.

She tries to get out of bed-

She winces and falls back in.

"Yeah, you're still pretty badly hurt. If I were you, I would stay in bed until you get all healed up."

"Urgh... And l-let you r-run free? F-fat Chance..."

She tries to sit up again. Fails again.

"...Are you done?"

"Hmph."

"I'll take that as a yes."

You reach into your bag and pull out 'Papyrus's greatest creation!'.

You toss it to Undyne.

"Eat this. It'll help a bit."

You walk out and into the kitchen/living room, quietly laughing a bit at Undyne's stunned face.

* * *

"I made Tea."

"I don't want it."

"Well, it's there if you change your mind."

You leave the room.

From outside the room, you hear Undyne drinking the tea.

* * *

"Hey, Undyne, did I ever tell you my name?"

"No. And I don't want to hear it."

"Well, I don't know my name anyway. So ha. There."

"...You're not joking."

"...No. I'm not."

...

"My _last name_ is Locke."

"Screw you."

* * *

You leave for a bit to go buy Jacques's book and glasses from Gerson.

* * *

"...Hey."

"Hey."

...

"Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

"...I'm sorry if I came on too strong with the accusations, yesterday."

"...S'fine. I'm still not gonna tell you what happened, though."

"I wasn't asking you to."

* * *

"Hey, Drago came by today, but you were asleep. They told me to tell you they're not mad."

"...Thanks." It was very begrudging.

* * *

"...Hey. What do you see Papyrus as?"

"...The little brother I never had."

"...Makes sense. I have a little brother, too... Although, he's actually my younger twin."

* * *

"Hey, I never asked you. What's up with the metal arm and the eye? Are you a cyborg?"

"Is that the proper term? I always just said half-robot."

* * *

"...Hey, Undyne. Did you know I've technically died three times?"

"...What?"

"Yeah. I'm stubborn like that."

* * *

Two days after Undyne's injury, you walk into her room to see her experimentally standing up.

It's shaky, but she can walk.

You feel a smile come to your face a bit.

She looks at you.

"...What're _you_ smilin' at!?"

"Nothing."

* * *

You're both sitting at Undyne's kitchen table, drinking tea that you had made.

Undyne is stares down at her cup.

"...Hey. Undyne. Is the tea bad?"

"...No. Second best tea I've ever had."

"Second to...?"

"Asgore's."

"...Huh."

The two of you sit in silence for a little while longer.

...

"...I was ten when it happened. My eye, I mean."

"Huh?"

"But. Uh. I should probably start from the beginning."

"...I hear that's a good place to start," You say quietly.

"The year underground was 276, surface year 1932. I was nine years old. I lived in Cliffside- The main city of Waterfall- alone with my dad. At the time, he was an up-and-comer in the Royal guard. Not as low as a sentry, but definitely not the chief.... I think he was lieutenant? Either way, he brought in enough cash to take care of us."

"...Then came the day I met _him_. The fifth human to fall- His name was John."

"I found him in a back alley, trying to stop a robbery. We helped each other save the victim. After that, we... We did everything together. We ran around town, fighting 'bad guys' and saving people, getting ice cream, and sometimes we even went out into abandoned areas and sparred. I had known he was human for a while, but... I didn't care."

"We were like siblings. Older brother and younger sister... It was nice. But..."

"Then Asgore killed him?"

"Then _I_ killed him."

You blink. You had not been expecting that.

"'An evacuation of the Waterfall area has been ordered. A Human has fallen into the Underground and is committing Genocide.' Imagine hearing that, on loop, from every TV, radio, and 'announcement pole' in the entirety of Cliffside."

You say nothing. 

Undyne understands.

"...I didn't even think for a _second_ that John was the one they'd called about. 'He'd lived in the Underground for over a year without killing a single monster- Why would he start now?' That's what I told myself. But, of course, he had always said that it was my destiny to be a hero. So instead of running like everybody else, I headed to the town square."

"...I got there just in time to watch John dust my father."

***...Oh.**

"I attacked him immediately."

***Oh no.**

"We fought, and obviously, I won. So... Yeah."

Undyne leans back.

She laughs.

There's nothing happy about it.

"You wanna know the best part? If I weren't his friend, and didn't know how he fought, I probably would've died dozens of times over. I'm only here today because I killed my best friend- No, my older sibling."

She clenches her fists.

"...To this day, I still don't know why he did it. What compelled him to suddenly just... Turn on me. He even stabbed me in the fucking eye! With my own spear! I just..."

She puts her head in her hands.

"...I just can't understand."

...You reach into your bag. What are you doing?

You pull out- Oh.

...

You pull out John's Tough Glove and Manly Bandanna.

You put them on the table.

She stares at them.

"...Where did you get these?"

"I found them in a box and in a shop in Snowdin, respectively."

She stares more intently.

"...Undyne. I think... If he were here today, he would be glad that you stopped him. Grief and anger... They do things to people."

She looks back to you.

"...Thank you."

She picks them up, and returns to her bedroom.

You follow.

She pulls a box out from under her bed. You look inside.

It's a karate belt and a glove. The belt is black, and the glove is exactly the same as the one you just gave Undyne.

...

She takes them out.

"...Could you leave for a moment?"

"Sure."

* * *

Undyne comes out wearing John's belt, bandanna, and gloves, paired with a Karate Gi.

"He'd be proud of you," you say to her.

She smiles a little. There are tears streaming down her face.

But she's still smiling.

* * *

**PART 4-5: METTATON.**

* * *

You knock on the door of the lab.

...

You knock again.

...

Again.

...

Again-

"I know, I know, I'm c-coming!"

The door opens.

"H-Hi! I'm doctor..."

Alphys's face falls.

"...Oh."

"Alphys, right? I need your help. My arm is chafing and I have no idea why."

You pull back the sleeve of my old sweater to show Alphys your arm.

Her eyes go wider than what should be physically possible. (But not really.)

"...Okay! Um. Um. C-Come in!"

You smile and enter.

* * *

Alphys is looking at your arm.

"...W-Wow. The... This is... This limb is..."

"Abysmal?"

"No! The creation of a fully automated, robotic limb? The ability to move it as if it's exactly the same as a normal limb? That should be completely impossible, but! Here it is! If I could re-create the process that made this, it could change _lives!_ "

"...Huh. Noted."

You don't have the heart to tell her what Jeff told you.

* * *

"Hey, Alphys, do you have a place I can nap for a bit? I haven't slept in about 72 hours."

"...H-How are y-you still _alive!?_ "

"A combination of spite, stubbornness, and not actually needing to sleep."

* * *

You wake up in a cold sweat from a dream you don't remember.

You glance around the small guest room that Alphys had let you borrow.

You wait for my narration. But you don't get any because the room is so damn blank.

You groan at my antics and lay back down.

_Chara, I'm really not in the mood for jokes._

***...Okay.**

* * *

A robot sits in a tiny chamber hidden in the side of a wall.

...

" **I'M STARTING TO THINK THIS WAS A BAD IDEA.** "

* * *

"Thanks for letting me rest here, Alphys. Even if I didn't sleep well..."

"Oh, No! I-Is there a-anything I c-can do?"

"Nah. I'm good."

You turn away from Alphys and begin to walk towards the exit-

BANG.

"...Alphys."

BANG.

"Please tell me that's a natural earthquake."

BANG.

"...Oh No."

BOOM.

A large part of the wall breaks down. The robot from the earlier runs rolls out.

" **FINALLY, FREEDOM-!** "

Both you and Alphys are staring at him.

" **...I'LL BE BACK IN EXACTLY 15.42 SECONDS.** "

He rolls back in.

"...What the hell was that?"

"T-That was M-Mettaton. H-He's an entertainer r-robot, b-but I don't k-know why he's here-!"

" **IT HAS BEEN EXACTLY 15.42 SECONDS!** "

'Mettaton' rolls back out into the lab.

He's holding a microphone, now.

" **WELCOME, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES, TO TODAY'S INTERVIEW!** "

Canned applause plays.

"...What?"

A force field appears around you-

* * *

_The Commander focuses._

_They point two fingers forward._

_Lucas stands in front of them, heartbroken._

_They fire the massive bolt of lightning._

_The mysterious badge reflected it back._

_- **999999999999**_

_The Commander took fatal damage._

* * *

You tense up.

You do your best not to let your panic show on your face.

(You can tell you're failing.)

Music begins to play. It includes pre-recorded lyrics, obviously sung by the robot.

**_SO WELCOME BACK TO THIS METAL ATTACK,_ **

**_WITH A KILLER ROBOT AS YOUR HOST, THAT'S A FACT!_ **

**_AND AS I SING AND SCREAM,_ **

**_ALL OF MY HOPES AND DREAMS,_ **

**_YOU, THE UNDERGROUND,_ **

**_WATCHES SO TRANSFIXED!!_ **

**_NOW LET'S SEEEEE, MY NAMEEEEE, IN LIGHTS MY DEARS,_ **

**_AS THE STAAAARS, SHINE DOOOOWN, ON ONE OF THEIR OWN!_ **

**_SO GO OOOON, AND SING, TRUE HARMONY,_ **

**_METTATOOOON'S THE GREEEEATEST THING YOU'LL SEE!_ **

You stare.

Alphys stares too.

" **YES, YES, I AM INDEED BEAUTIFUL. NOW, AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, THIS SEASON OF 'THE METTATON SHOW' IS A VERY SPECIAL ONE, BECAUSE, TODAY, WE HAVE A VERY, VERY SPECIAL GUEST!** "

Mettaton rolls towards you. The force-field falls. You take a deep breath in relief, even as Mettaton slings an arm around your shoulders.

A microphone is stuck in your face.

" **SO, HUMAN! WHAT IS YOUR NAME?** "

"...I'm not sure. My last name is Locke, but I lost my first name three years ago."

The music stops.

For a while, nothing happens.

Then-

" **UH... MOVING ON!** "

Mettaton pulls back, but the mic is still in stick-in-your-face range. The music starts up again.

" **NOW, MR. LOCKE! YOUR NEXT QUESTION, AND ONE THAT HOPEFULLY WON'T BE SO EXISTENTIAL!** "

The mic is thrust back into your face. You back up just a bit.

" **MR. LOCKE! WHY, OH WHY, HAVE YOU COME TO THE UNDERGROUND?** "

"I have no clue. I just sorta woke up on at the bottom of a hole after trying to blow myself up with lightning.

The music stops again.

" **...DARLING, THIS INTERVIEW WAS SUPPOSED TO BE _HUMOROUS_. YOU'RE REALLY RUINING THE EFFECT.**"

"Well, s'not my fault my life sucks."

...

" **W-WELL, I SUPPOSE I MAY HAVE TO CALL OFF THE INTERVIEW. BUT! BE READY, DARLINGS! SOON, THE NEXT EPISODE OF 'COOKING WITH A KILLER ROBOT' SHALL BEGIN, AND HOPEFULLY, MR. LOCKE'S DIRE, _DIRE_ PERSONALITY WON'T RUIN IT THAT TIME!!!**"

"I take personal offense to that."

Mettaton doesn't respond to that, instead retracting his arms and wheel, replacing the latter it with a jet booster that he uses to fly off, punching a hole in the roof of the lab.

...

...

...

"Alphys, what the _fuck_ just happened?"

Alphys just purses her lips.

"I-I have absolutely n-no idea."

She frowns.

"...H-hey. I h-have an i-idea!"

You raise a brow.

"I-I'll give y-you my n-number! T-Then, y-you can call me wh-whenever you n-need help!"

"Right. Here's my phone-"

"Oh my GOD what IS that!?" Alphys screams in horror.

"...It's my phone?"

"T-That is NOT a phone, that i-is an AFFRONT to S-SCIENCE."

You shrug and hand it over. "Upgrade it, then."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Alphys comes back with a completely different phone.

"I-I transmitted all the d-data from y-your old phone to t-this one! I-I added m-my number, too!"

"Thanks."

Your new phone looks far less like a brick and more like a smartphone.

***Hey, try calling Papyrus. You two haven't talked in a bit.**

You enter Papyrus's number.

_Brrring... Brrring..._

_"HELLO??? WHO IS THIS???"_

"Hey, Pap. It's me."

_"AH, HELLO HUMAN-LOCKE!!! IT SEEMS YOU HAVE A NEW PHONE."_

"Yeah, Doctor Alphys made it for me. Hey, by the way, how are you feeling after... Undyne?"

_"...A LOT OF MY BELIEFS HAVE BEEN SHAKEN. BUT!!! I AM NOT ONE TO GIVE UP EASILY. MY GOAL HAS NOW CHANGED!!! I SHALL FIND ASGORE AND CONVINCE HIM NOT TO_ _FIGHT!!! A GENIUS MANEUVER BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!"_

"Well, if anybody can convince him, it's you, Pap."

_"NYEH-HEH-HEH!!! I AM, INDEED, GOOD AT CONVINCING PEOPLE OF THINGS."_

"...Hey, Papyrus?"

_"...NHYES???"_

"I... Talked to Undyne, earlier. She feels really bad for snapping at you. Go visit her- I think she could use somebody to talk to."

_"OF COURSE!!! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS THERE FOR HIS FRIENDS!!!"_

"Yes, you are, Pap. Yes you are."

* * *

" **HELLO AGAIN, HUMAN!** "

"Hello, Mettaton."

The opening to 'The Mettaton Show' plays again.

You take the oppurtunity to look around. You seem to be on a fake kitchen TV set.

When it finishes, Mettaton starts waving to the cameras.

" **HELLO, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF 'COOKING WITH A KILLER ROBOT!' TODAY'S GUEST ASSISTANT IS MR. LOCKE! SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!** "

You wave. "Hey, everybody. I'm not getting paid for this."

" **WELL, CONSIDER YOUR PAYMENT EXTENDED LIFE. NOW! TODAY, WE'RE MAKING A VERY SPECIAL CAKE! GO GET ME THE INGREDIENTS, DARLING.** "

You shrug, before following the directions.

"Let's see... Eggs, milk, flour... Here we are."

You plop the ingredients on the counter.

"That enough for you?"

" **NOT QUITE! WE STILL NEED THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT...** "

"Frosting?"

" **A HUMAN SOUL!!!!!!!!** "

"...Is... Is that actually possible? To bake a cake with a SOUL in it?"

" **DON'T KNOW, DON'T CARE!** "

Mettaton proceeds to pull out a _fucking_ _chainsaw._

"...Okay, not gonna lie, that's pretty awesome," You say even as you prepare a PSI shield.

Mettaton is slowly moving towards you.

You get ready to clash-

_Brrring... Brrring..._

Mettaton sighs, moves the chainsaw to one hand, and grabs a phone off the counter.

" **PLEASE MAKE THIS QUICK, I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING.** "

Alphys answers.

_"M-Mettaton, you c-can't do this! W-What is somebody y-young is watching?"_

" **...I SUPPOSE YOU ARE RIGHT.** "

Mettaton turns to the cameras.

" **HELLO, PARENTS! PLEASE PREVENT ALL YOUNGSTERS FROM WATCHING YOUR TELEVISIONS.** "

_"...Oh, come on! T-That's not fair!"_

" **WELL, WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? CALL OFF THE SHOW? I AM HERE TO HELP EVERYBODY BAKE A CAKE! I CANNOT SIMPLY-** "

"Wait, how are people supposed to bake a... SOUL Cake without a SOUL?"

For a while, nobody moves. Then-

" **THAT'S COMPLETELY TRUE! EVERYBODY GIVE A BIG HAND TO MY ASSISTANT HERE FOR NOTICING SOMETHING INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS!** "

"...Thanks?"

" **LUCKILY FOR EVERYBODY WATCHING, WE HAVE EVER-CONVENIENT, MTT-BRAND HUMAN SOUL-SUBSTITUTE! IN FACT, IT'S RIGHT OVER ON THAT COUNTER!** "

And so it was.

"...There's some sort of twist here."

" **GOOD GUESS! THE COUNTER, OF COURSE, IS NOT A NORMAL COUNTER. IN FACT, IT IS CAPABLE OF THIS!!!** "

A pillar rises up beneath the counter, shooting it up about 100 feet into the air, nearing the cavern ceiling.

"Oh, no. Whatever will I do."

You flick your wrist. The substitute falls out of a blue portal and onto the counter.

"There you go."

Mettaton just stares at the substitute.

" **...OH.** "

You leave the set.

* * *

You find Eve's pan and apron. You put the pan in your bag, but you wear the apron like a cape.

You take a selfie and post it on UnderFriends.

#Style.

* * *

You're just walking through Hotland again, when-

" **WE NOW CUT TO OUR CORRESPONDENT IN THE FIELD, CODENAMED 'WEIRD CHILD!' GO OUT AND FIND ME SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY!** "

Upon closer inspection of the area, you notice a large variety of random objects including-

***GO PET THE DOG.**

_Why?_

***I LIKE DOGS. LET ME PET THE DOG.**

You shrug and hand over control.

I run over and start to rapidly pet the dog.

The dog is being cute.

Distantly, you hear Mettaton talking.

...Wait.

" **WAIT. THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS DOG... THAT'S NOT A TAIL! IT'S A FUSE! THAT DOG IS A BOMB! IN FACT, EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM IS A BOMB!** "

You quickly take back control and douse the dog's tail with PSI Torrent, instantly de-activating the bomb. The dog runs away, but that's the least of your concerns.

***...Good-bye, sweet prince.**

You rapidly look around. All the other random items have all turned into bombs.

" **WOW! IT'S ALMOST AS IF THESE BOMBS HAVE BEEN... PRE-PLANTED!** "

A pre-recorded 'gasp!' sound effect plays.

" **GOOD LUCK DISARMING THEM, HUMAN! OH, AND IF YOU FAIL TO DISARM EVEN _ONE_ OF THEM, THEN THIS _MEGA_ BOMB WILL EXPLODE, DESTROYING MOST OF THIS AREA! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!!!**"

Mettaton's voice cuts out.

Alphys calls you.

_"O-Okay, I k-know this l-looks bad, b-but I installed a b-bomb-defuser onto your phone! Just-"_

"I have a better idea," You say, clenching your fists.

You run over to the mega bomb.

1:45.

You hold out your hands and begin to charge up a PSI Shield.

1:30.

You have a minute-and-a-half to make a shield, according to the bomb's timer.

1:15.

The shield begins to grow stronger and stronger.

1:00.

You feel a slight headache begin to grow behind your skull.

45.

The shield grows stronger.

30.

_"W-What are you doing!?"_

15.

"Something incredibly stupid," you answer through gritted teeth.

10 seconds.

5 seconds.

0 seconds.

**B O O M.**

You feel like something just stabbed you in the forehead- It's taking everything you have- But the shield holds- And holds- And holds-

And the explosion's power runs out.

You collapse to your knees.

***Holy hell! You just... You just contained a freaking _explosion!_**

" **...WOW.** "

You raise your head.

Mettaton is flying above you. He's wearing a red suit.

You, slowly yet shakily, stand up.

" **...YOU REALLY ARE QUITE POWERFUL, DARLING.** "

You stare him in the... 'face.'

"Yeah." You wince. "I am."

* * *

You die multiple times to Muffet before you realize you can just fly over the webs that had previously trapped you.

***...Let's not discuss how long it took for us to come to this conclusion.**

_Agreed._

* * *

You walk onto something that looks suspiciously like a stage.

Then, Mettaton pops out of a hole up top.

" **OH MY... THAT HUMAN...** **COULD IT BE? MY ONE TRUE LOVE!?** "

You stare up at him. Nothing has struck as much fear in your heart as much as Mettaton in a dress.

"Are... Are you wearing a dress? Mettaton, no..."

" **METTATON, YES!!!** "

Then he begins to sing.

_Oh my love..._

_Please run away..._

_Monster King..._

_Forbids your stay..._

_Humans must..._

_Live far apart..._

_Even if..._

_It breaks my heart..._

The entire time, you're just standing there, completely frozen.

_They'll put you..._

_In the dungeon..._

_It'll suck..._

_And then you'll die a lot..._

_Really sad..._

_You're gonna die..._

_Cry cry cry..._

_So sad it's happening..._

" **SO SAD... SO SAD THAT YOU ARE GOING TO THE DUNGEON!** "

He pulls out a remote.

" **WELP, TOODLES.** "

A trap-door opens beneath you.

...

You don't fall because you're holding yourself up with PSI.

" **...WHAT.** "

"Sorry, Mettaton, but I have friends waiting for me."

You casually walk through the air, over the force-fields (You flinch a bit when you notice them,) and out the door.

* * *

**PART 4-6: DEATH BY GLAMOUR**

* * *

You buy multiple Starfaits at the diner's store, as well as Austin's Gun and Hat.

(You also arrange a hangout between 'Burgerpants,' Bratty, and Catty.)

* * *

The CORE is just as dangerous as it normally is.

Not much more to say.

* * *

You step into the large and (normally) empty room before the capital.

This time, it's not empty.

" **...HELLO, DARLING.** "

There's a suspicious lack of flashing lights and shiny things.

" **HERE WE ARE, AT OUR FINAL SHOWDOWN. TIME FOR YOU TO DEFEAT THE 'EVIL ROBOT...' NOT!** "

You blink. "Uh. I never said you were?"

" **HMPH. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.** "

You frown. "I really don't."

" **...ALLOW ME TO START AGAIN. YOU THINK THAT I'M HERE TO HAND OVER YOUR SOUL TO ASGORE, CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I HAVE NO DESIRE FOR HUMANITY TO PERISH!** "

"Wait, really? Then this was all for the views?"

" **NOT QUITE, DARLING. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ALPHYS ACTING... SUSPICIOUS. YOU HAVE, HAVEN'T YOU?** "

"Well, I did find some things a little bit... convenient..."

...Oh.

"...Alphys made this all up, didn't she?"

" **INDEED! SHE CREATED FALSE DANGERS AND THREATS, ALL SO SHE COULD BE A PART OF YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE'S TURNED YOUR LIFE INTO A SELF-INSERT FANFICTION INSTEAD OF A NORMAL FANFICTION!** "

"...A what now?"

" **LONG STORY. EITHER WAY, SHE'S BEEN PULLING THE STRINGS THROUGHOUT ALL OF HOTLAND! ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN COMPLETELY ORCHESTRATED!** "

"Well, was I ever in any real danger?"

" **...WELL, TECHINICALLY, NO-** "

"Then it's fine."

" **...THIS IS NOT GOING TO PLAN. WELP! PLAN B!** "

The door slams shut.

You hear Alphys banging on it from the other side.

"Hey! W-What's going on!?"

You sigh.

"Look, Mettaton. You can't win. You should know that by now."

" **INDEED, I DO. BUT! I CAN STILL MILK THIS FOR ABSOLUTELY _ALL_ THE VIEWS!**"

You smirk. You, somehow, had been expecting this.

The platform begins to rise.

Mettaton reaches behind his back.

" **ARE YOU READY, DARLING? IT'S TIME FOR THE GREATEST EPISODE OF 'THE METTATON SHOW' YET...** "

The platform rises into an auditorium.

It's filled to the brim with monsters of all shapes and sizes.

Mettaton flips a switch on his back. The stage is filled with smoke.

" **SAY IT WITH ME, EVERYBODY...** "

The crowd screams out, along with Mettaton.

" **D** E **A** T **H**! **B** Y **! G** L **A** M **O** U **R**! **!**!"

The smoke clears.

Mettaton EX makes his premiere.

He looks... Startlingly human. He could be a human in an above-averagecostume.

He preforms a series of poses. Somehow, he's already a natural with the new body. He's probably been practicing.

His final pose ends up with his finger pointing directly at you.

" **So, human... Are you ready?** "

You think your smile is going to tear your face in two. You take your bag off and throw it to the side.

"Hell yeah. I was _born_ ready."

Mettaton smirks.

He lunges forward, and suddenly, the two of you are dance-fighting.

**I am the idol everyone craves-**

**Rise to the top, and the world I'll change!**

Low kick, backflip over.

**Smile for the camera, come, look sharp!**

**Raise your SOUL and show your heart!**

Spin. Finish with a pose.

**Drama, Romance, Bloodshed-**

**These tools to the masses I bring!**

**(We love you, Mettaton! We love you, Mettaton!)**

A disco ball lights up, and you dodge the lights with style.

**We'll bring the light,**

**And soon the whole world will see!**

**(Come on now, Mettaton! Come on now Mettaton!)**

You fire a bullet of PSI Karma into the ball. It explodes into light particles that rain down on the stage.

**Come on, keep up the pace-**

**Hero of the human race!**

You're not a hero... Are you?

**You know you've come so far,**

**Now face my rising star!**

***Don't lie to yourself. You _absolutely_ are.**

**All cross the Underground,**

**The monsters gather round!**

**They're watching you, you know-**

**So go put on a show!**

You smile. You _absolutely_ will.

The attacks stall.

" **Pop quiz, hot shot! What's the best part of me?** "

"Hair. 9.4/10."

" **Oh, don't flatter me, I already know I'm amazing!** "

**Hear the people sing,**

**To the glamour I bring!**

**(Mettaton! Mettaton! Met-ta-TON!)**

As you dodge and dance, you make sure the tips of your limbs leave trails of sparks. PSI Fire, baby!

**I must admit, you know,**

**Alone I make a great show,**

**(Mettaton!)**

You leap off of Mettaton's arm and land behind him, before backing up to stand back-to-back with him.

You're hit with sudden inspiration. You sing along.

***But together? We fly,***

***And like the sun, we SHINE!***

**(Notice me, call me, Mettaton!)**

All the pyrotechnics go off at once.

**We may be Underground, true,**

**So the first thing I'll do-**

The two of you roll away from each other.

**When from the ground we crawl,**

**Is finally claim. It. ALL.**

You haven't had this much fun in _ages_!

**(Even if we're here to stay,)**

**(You're our hero, Mettaton!)**

You spin and end in a pose.

**(You're the Underground's,)**

**(Number one and only star!)**

At the word 'star,' you throw fire into the air in the shape of a star.

You hear the crowd's awe.

**(The show must go on,)**

**(So please dance on, Mettaton!)**

You're dancing far closer to Mettaton than you had been before. You barely dodge his attacks, and he barely dodges yours.

**(Here in this crowded place,)**

**(You've already gone far!)**

You _leap_ high into the air.

**(The cheers of your)/my (fans,)**

**(Give you)/me (power, Mettaton,) It's true,**

At your highest point, you throw fire directly downwards. You float for a moment, purely from the _force_ of the fire. Mettaton is dancing in front of the fire.

**(As you)/I (pose and you)/I (boast,)**

**(We)/I (know that you)/I (have it all!)**

**(We've)/I've (been with you)/here,**

**(From the start, sweet Mettaton)/ It's so true,**

**(Please, Mettaton, won't you please take my call?)**

" **You know, darling,** " Mettaton says, breathing heavily, " **You really _are_ a Natural.**"

"I guess I am," You say as you smirk, even though you're also breathing heavily. "Or maybe I'm just in a really, _really_ good mood."

**I'm warming up! See me shine,**

**With such thunderous aplomb!**

A series of fast-paced kicks. A series of fast-paced dodges.

**(We love it, Mettaton! We love you, Mettaton!)**

**Things blowing up all around**

**Because** **I dropped a bomb!**

You produce a massive explosion of fire at the word 'bomb.'

**(Exploding Mettaton! Exploding Mettaton!)**

**There's no more time to waste-**

**Hero of the human race!**

Dance-fighting.

**I'm going to go far,**

**As the world's greatest star,**

**I am not made for war,**

**I'm like no robot before!**

Mettaton boosts you up, into the air. You spin, and a shower of sparks flies over the stage and audience.

**There will be no more pain,**

**BECAUSE I'LL ENTERTAIN!**

**Though your power is high,**

**My stardom is nigh-**

**Unlike the six before,**

(You wince a little at the lack of respect being shown to the other- No, your _friends._ )

**Will you stop Asgore?**

**So it's been swell, my friend,**

**But the game must end.**

It's true... But a part of you wants to keep doing this- dancing and singing and _showing off_.

**I've done my duty-**

**I've brought such BEAUTY!**

***Beauty is subjective, I suppose.**

**(This is the place,)**

**(Where the fame is everything!)**

**(Everyone wants to touch,)**

**(Everyone wants to see!)**

Too true!

**(We live in a world)**

**(Where celebrities are kings!)**

**(We all know what we want,)**

**(So please give it to me!)**

You lead the singing of the next- and final- portion of the song.

***We can never get enough,***

***Of being celebrities!***

Entertaining is _FUN_.

***As the fans of us both,***

***Sing in true harmony!***

You remember baby Harmony on the surface and smile.

***The love of our fans,***

***Is what gives us wings of Will,***

Wings of fire appear behind you.

***So we'll fly through the sky***

***When it finally shows!***

You and Mettaton finish off by posing back-to-back.

You fire-! Uh. You fire electricity into the air, in sync with the final note.

You're completely out of breath, but you can't stop _smiling!_

The cheers are so loud. Your ears are hurting.

But you can't remember a time you've felt so _joyful_.

There's a spotlight shining down on the two of you.

The whole Underground is giving a standing ovation to the two of you.

The platform begins to lower.

As soon as you're out of sight of the audience, you fall on your back and start breathing really, really heavily.

Mettaton does something similar, falling over like you, but instead of breathing heavily, you can hear quiet flickering.

" **T-that was in-incredible, d-darling.** "

You raise your head. "You... huff... okay?"

" **Oh, I-I'll be f-fine, d-darling. It's j-just... T-this form is st-still a prototype. It's b-battery consumption i-is l-less than i-ideal. Just a b-bit of ch-charging, and I-I'll be fine.** " You can tell he's not lying.

"Good," you say as loud as you can... Which isn't very loud.

(Distantly, you notice the platform has returned to where it was before.

" **B-But I'm n-not t-the one o-on a j-journey. You... Y-You still h-have to c-confront Asgore.** "

You smile a little. "I... huff... I have a plan."

" **G-Good... I didn't w-want to s-sing your p-praises for y-you to g-go and d-do something l-like... You kn-know.** "

You sit up, having caught your breath somewhat. "You should... You should probably let Alphys in so she can help you."

" **Y-Yes, I sh-shall. S-See y-y-y-you o-on t-t-the s-s-surface, L-Locke.** "

He winks, and his eyes go out.

The door opens. Alphys rushes in. She stares at you, amazement on her face.

"O-Oh my g-god, I saw- I saw t-the whole t-thing on my phone! T-That was... I-incredible!"

Then, she notices Mettaton's state. She rushes to his side.

"OhNoOhNoOhNo- Oh, thank _god_ , it's j-just the b-batteries."

She looks back to you. Her face falls even further.

"...I-I guess... T-The s-secret's o-out?"

You nod. "I'm not that mad. You could have at least told me, but I get it, I guess."

Alphys looks surprised at your proclamation.

"...T-Thanks..."

You stand up.

"I... I'm going to go confront Asgore now. Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, neither of us will die."

You look down at Mettaton.

"...Actually, I think I'll help you with him first."

* * *

**PART 4-7: THE TRUE LAB**

* * *

You and Alphys, carefully carrying Mettaton between you, walk out of the portal you had created.

The two of you carefully set him down on a specific part of the ground. Alphys walks over to the wall and presses a button, and a table rises from the floor, with Mettaton on it.

Alphys plugs Mettaton into a charger that had risen with the table.

"...T-Thanks, Locke."

"No problem, Alphys. Now, if you excuse me-"

Knock Knock.

"U-Uhh... J-Just a s-second!"

She rushes over to the door. She opens it. Her jaw immediately drops like a rock.

Undyne is on the other side. She's wearing a fancy black leather jacket, as well as jeans and boots... Though she's still wearing John's gloves and belt, you notice.

If you were a teratophiliac, you'd find her attractive.

_What the fuck, Chara!?_

***XD**

She looks like she's about to faint... Though you're pretty sure that's not (entirely) because of Hotland's heat.

"Uhhh... Hey, Alphys! Can I come in?"

Alphys's jaw slowly rises from the floor.

"Y-Y-Yes!!! A-Absolutely!!!!!!"

Undyne walks into the lab and breathes a sigh of relief.

She notices you. "Hey, Locke," she says with a nod.

You nod back.

She turns back to Alphys.

***Ah, yes. Finally. My OTP shall become reality!**

_What is an OTP?_

***One True Pairing.**

_...Oh. So you 'ship' them?_

***Abso-Fucking-lutely.**

Ah.

Anyway.

Alphys and Undyne are awkwardly flirting in a similar vein to how they did last time.

"...So. You've probably noticed this letter I have in my hands."

"I-I w-w-was w-wondering a-about t-that."

"..."

"..."

"...NevermindI'maJustThrowThisOut-"

***You WILL make this happen or I will find some way to make us die permanently.**

You roll your eyes and flick your wrist.

The letter flies to your hand.

You tear it open.

You toss it to Alphys. She barely catches it.

"Read it."

Slowly, Alphys picks it up.

She reads it.

She blushes more and more the more she reads.

Slowly, she looks up at Undyne.

"...Y-Yes?"

"WOO-HOO!!"

***And that, partner, is how to play matchmaker.**

Undyne grabs Alphys- Like, literally picks her up- and runs upstairs with her.

"WE'RE GONNA GET YOU THE BEST DATE OUTFIT _EVER!!!!_ "

The entire time, Alphys is smiling like a maniac.

You smile, and prepare to portal away-

_human_

You freeze.

...

There's something underneath you.

_human_

"...Yes?"

_come_

The image of the bathroom appears in your head... But, instead of leading to a bathroom, it leads into an elevator.

You turn towards it.

You pull the little lizard symbol next to the bathroom off the wall. There's a button underneath.

You press it.

The door opens.

...

You walk in and press the 'down' button.

The door closes, and you're left in dim light.

...

There's a creaking noise as the elevator descends.

You take the opportunity given to take out your flashlight, taken all that time ago from Toriel's house in the Ruins.

...

The elevator stops.

The door opens, and you're greeted with a dark, dank, and empty lab.

You flick the flashlight on.

...

The dark is overwhelming.

...

There's a screen on the wall. It activates when you get near.

_Chara, can you read it?_

***...Yeah.**

***ENTRY #1**

**_This is it... Time to do what the King has asked us to do._ _I will create the power to free us all._ **

**_I will unleash the power of the SOUL._ **

***...Oh no.**

Behind you, the elevator doors slam shut. The screen flickers and changes to a new entry.

***ENTRY #2**

**_The barrier is locked by SOUL power. Unfortunately, to our knowledge, this power cannot be re-created artificially. SOUL power can only be found in once-living beings. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now- Monster SOULS._ **

***...Alphys...**

You hear squelching noises behind you.

You turn around.

...It's horrifying.

It's an amalgamation of multiple monsters. In it, you can see some Vegetoids and a monster very similar to that of Snowdrake.

_'My mom's been missing for a while..._ _I haven't seen her ever since she fell down._ _She's supposed to be alive, though... We got a letter about it!'_

"...Do you... Are you Snowdrake's Mother?"

The amalgamation just stares, and, in a quiet voice:

"...snowy...?"

You stare. You nod, slowly.

Slowly, it- her- they?- They begin to slink off.

You follow.

She stops, turns, and gestures to another screen.

It lights up.

***ENTRY #5**

**_I've done it. Using the Doctor's blueprints, I've extracted it from the three Human SOULS. I believe this is what gives their SOULS the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate..._ **

**_Let's call this power..._ **

**"Determination,"** I finish out loud.

The screen switches.

***ENTRY #6**

**_Asgore asked everybody outside the capital for monsters that had 'fallen down.' Their bodies came in today, and they're still comatose. Soon, they'll all be dust._ ** **_But... What if I inject DT into them? If their SOULS persist after they... perish..._ **

**_Freedom may be closer than we thought._ **

***...Alphys, what did you _do?_**

You turn towards-

Nevermind. Nobody's there.

* * *

You find another screen.

**ENTRY #7**

_**We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULS when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULS of other monsters... But what if... What about something neither human nor monster?** _

...You're pretty sure you know where this is going.

**ENTRY #8**

_**I chose a candidate... The first Golden Flower from the outside world to grow after 'the tragedy' happened. I haven't told ASGORE yet. I wanted to surprise him with it... But experiments are all a failure. They don't seem to be any different from the controls. Whatever. They're a hassle to work with anyway... The seeds just stick to you and just don't let go.**_

You freeze.

...What's wrong?

***Hey. Partner. What's going on? You okay?**

_'Of course, the flower they decided to inject just so happened to have a bunch of the dead monster's dust on it. So the scientist ended up bringing back the dead. Yay.'_

_'The monster was betrayed by somebody they loved.'_

_'The monster was a happy monster; they had friends, family, and everything they could ever ask for.'_

_The first Golden Flower._

_'...You're not alone in there, are you?'_

_'The person in your head. What's their name?'_

_'...Nah. You can't be_ them _. Nobody could ever replace_ them _.'_

_Fire bursts out, and the flowers begin to burn._

_The seeds just stick to you and don't let go._

_"Flowey here doesn't like royalty very much."_

_"Truly? Well, I am sorry for whatever they did to you."_

_Flowey looks really,_ really _uncomfortable._

**_FLOWEY IS ASRIEL DREEMURR._ **

***Hey! Partner!**

You blink.

...

You're blocking me out.

***Hey. Why-**

_I'll tell you later._

***But-**

_LATER._

***...Okay.**

* * *

**ENTRY #14**

**_Everyone that had fallen down has woken up! They're all walking and talking like nothing is wrong..._ **

_**I thought they were goners.** _

**ENTRY #15**

_**Seems like this research was a dead end. But... At least we got a happy end out of it? I called all the families and told them everybody's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. : )** _

**ENTRY #16**

_**no No NO NO NO NO** _

"...That's an accurate reaction."

* * *

**ENTRY #21**

_**I spend all my time at the garbage dump now** _

_**it's my element** _

"...Alphys... I'm so sorry..."

* * *

**ENTRY #4**

**_I've been researching humans to find any and all info on their SOULS. I ended up having to snoop around the castle a bit... But I stopped because I found these weird tapes._ **

**_I don't think Asgore's watched them..._ **

**_I don't think he should, either._ **

* * *

You don't get why Asgore shouldn't watch the tapes.

The first was completely wholesome! And adorable. Asgore and Toriel were so cute as a couple...

You put in the second one.

_"Okay, Chara, are you ready?"_

Control is instantly wrested away from you as I tear the tape out of the TV.

I throw the tape on the ground and stomp on it.

...

_Do you...?_

***No.**

_Okay._

* * *

Alphys was panicking.

She had to get down there, somebody had found her out, this was bad this was bad this was VERY VERY BAD-

She was running-

She stops.

Locke is sitting on a bed, petting Endogeny.

He slowly looks up at Alphys.

There are tears in his eyes.

"...What have you done?"

* * *

"...A-and t-that's wh-what h-h-happened. I-I d-don't..."

"...It's alright. It was an accident... I guess. They were going to die anyway..."

You look over at Snowdrake's mom and the Vegetoids she's fused with.

"...But this is a fate _worse_ than death. I think... I think you need to tell everybody."

"W-w-w-what!? B-But I-I'll g-get-"

"Trust me. The longer this goes on, the bigger it'll get. Besides..."

You look at 'Lemon Bread.' "I think this has gone on long enough."

'Reaper Bird' chirps his assent. Even if it's more... Quiet demonic screeching. Than chirping.

...

"...Y-Yeah. You're... You're r-right."

You smile a little.

"...I... I have to d-do this. F-for them." She gestures to the amalgamates.

You nod, somewhat proud. "Good luck, Alph. If I know Undyne, she won't be mad. She'll be disappointed- Which is, frankly, a million times worse- But I doubt she'll end a relationship with you over this, because I'm 99% sure she's been crushing over you for a really long time. So. Yeah."

Alphys blushes before turning to the Amalgamates. "Alright, everybody. Y-You're going h-home."

Everybody 'cheers-' It's more gurgled happy noises- and runs to the elevators.

But, before Alphys can follow-

"Hey, Alphys, one more thing. I know who all those monsters are... But what the hell are the Memoryheads?"

"...T-The what?"

Well that's not creepy at _all._

"You know! The ones that are all like, 'come join the fun!' Or whatever."

Alphys is staring at you in horror.

"A-A-All o-of t-the Amalgamates j-just l-l-left. I-I d-don't- P-please, I'm n-not-"

She's not lying.

"...Fuck, you really don't know..."

You sigh. "I can deal with them later... For now, I'mma just... Head on out."

* * *

The elevator ride with Alphys and the Amalgamates is extremely awkward.

At least there's good elevator music this time.

* * *

You part ways with Alphys after helping her explain things to Undyne.

She hugs Alphys, as predicted.

You PSI Teleport away when they begin to kiss. You want to see _none of that_.

* * *

The walk through the capital is very different in tone this time.

...

There's no dust on your hands this time. And, this time, there won't be any at all once you're done.

...

We reach the castle and Asgore's cabin.

_Hey, Chara? Take control and do the rounds this time._

***Why?**

_I... I want to tell my story this time._

***...Oh. OH. Okay. Got it.**

Feeling recedes. I take control and begin my trek through the house, making sure to go slowly for you.

_Once upon a time, there was a boy named Lucas._

_The boy was a kind and just boy. Even if he was a bit of a coward and a crybaby, he had his family to help him, and he was happy. He had everything he could ever want. What could possibly go wrong?_

_Then, one day, the Pigmasks came._

***Snrk. Sorry, I still can't get over that stupid name.**

_The founder's name was Porky._

***Wha- That's even worse!**

_...Anyway._

_The Pigmasks came and began to abduct creatures and use them in terrible experiments... Combining animals, turning them into half-robots... This process was known as 'Chimerafication.'_

_Soon, they got their hands on a big one- A massive creature known as a 'Drago.' Normally kind beasts that liked to play with people, the Chimera-ed Drago was an evil beast that hunted down anything and everything it could find._

_Including Lucas's mother._

You feel me wince, even as I'm taking my locket and knife.

_Lucas's brother, filled with grief and anger, decided to go and hunt down the Drago... But not before getting his PSI awoken by a group of powerful... Uh,_ beings _known as Magypsies._

_...Lucas's brother never came back._

_Three years later, Lucas had had enough. He decided it was time. He was going to run the invaders off the islands, no matter what._

_But he needed help. He asked some friends for help- a thief, a princess, and his dog, named Boney._

***That's... Adorable. Please tell me the dog's still alive?**

_99% sure, yes._

***Thank god.**

_Anyway._

_The four of them journeyed around the islands, destroying Pigmask facilities, and hunting Chimeras._

_But, while doing so, they discovered the Pigmask Empire's true motives... There was a great Dragon, sleeping beneath the Nowhere Islands._

_The Pigmask Lord had a way to awaken it, and he planned to use his wish in order to erase the universe from existence._

_Of course, that just meant Lucas had to pull the needles, first._

_It was a race against, not just time, but a mysterious weapon in the form of a person known as the Masked Man._

_The Masked Man pulled three needles. Lucas also pulled three. There was only one left._

_They met at the final needle. The empire had collapsed, Lucas's friends all united, and the Pigmask Lord had fallen._

_All that was left was to wish they had never come in the first place... But the Masked Man was there when Lucas entered the room with the needle._

_And, just before this point, Lucas had made a discovery. A terrible, wonderful discovery._

_The Masked Man was his brother, turned into a robotic weapon._

_They fought. Lucas was going to lose, but at the last second, the spirit of his dead mother pulled his brother back from the brink._

_His brother fought back against his programming the only way he could- By reflecting an attack back at himself._

_He died... Again. And Lucas Pulled the final needle. The dragon was awake, and we now sit in the world it created- The world Lucas saved._

_And I am here too. I was the Masked Man. I am Lucas's brother, and I miss him so much, you... Well, take how you feel about Asriel and... Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel._

***...Oh.**

The two of us walk in silence down the halls for a bit.

Them, you come upon the Judgement hall.

sans is there. His pose is relaxed, a genuine smile on his face.

"heya, kiddo. how you been? saw you on TV. you looked pretty happy, out there."

"Yeah, I was."

"you also found alphys's mistake. gotta say, had me or the doc known about that, it would'a come out years ago. 'course, it turns out the doc _did_ know. he actually took some DT for himself and used it to let himself keep moving, even when he felt hopeless."

"Oh..."

"yeah. the stuff's one hell of a drug. took some of it myself when we fought... i think. my notes get pretty unclear at that point."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

"heh."

The two of you stare at each other.

"...kid. i... want to say something."

"...Yeah?"

"...i'm... i'm really proud of you, kiddo. you're on your way, you hear me? somethin' tells me the world's gonna be a better place with you driving it forwards."

"...sans... Thank you."

"anytime, kid."

...

You step through the hall and wrap your arms around sans, placing your chin on his shoulder.

He reciprocates.

"...hey. tell your partner i'm glad they're there, too, k?"

"Heh. Yeah."

...

You pull back.

Both of you just smile.

sans walks behind a pillar.

You can tell that he's gone, even if you can't see him.

***...Let's go, 'Mr. Locke?'**

"Let's go, Chara."

We walk out of the room.

* * *

Neither Locke nor Chara are aware of the Flower watching them, whose jaw dropped at the mention of Chara's name.

...

"...I _knew_ it."

* * *

You stop by the gravestones to drop the items you've collected off to their individual owners.

Eve gets her apron and frying pan.

Elizabeth gets her tutu and ballet shoes.

Jacques gets his book and glasses.

Austin gets his gun and hat.

John gets a whispered message- "Undyne's got your stuff."

Hope gets her ribbon and toy knife.

...

You can feel their gratitude radiating; John's, most of all.

* * *

_Chara, I want you to take control. Wear the locket and the knife... I'm already wearing your sweater, too. So... Yeah._

***But-**

_Don't worry._

* * *

Asgore is humming when I enter the garden.

Looks like he's watering his flowers.

He hears me enter, but doesn't yet turn.

"Howdy! I will be with you in just a moment... The flowers still need watering."

...

...

...

"Done!"

He turns. "Now, how can I..."

He freezes.

"...Chara?"

My tears are in your eyes.

**"...Hey, dad."**

He's crying too.

"But... But how?"

I shrug.

**"I died, and now my SOUL's stuck to this kid. He's... letting me talk to you right now. I'm not sure why."**

You take back control.

"I wanted Chara to talk to you. They have some things to say."

You give control back.

**"...Um. So. I have something to admit to."**

I look away. I can't look him in the eye.

**"...The illness. That I died from. It wasn't natural. I... I poisoned myself."**

Asgore winces. "I... Suspected as much. I didn't want it to be true, but I recognized the symptoms, even if Tori didn't."

**"Oh."**

For a while, nobody moves.

Then, I spread your arms out.

Asgore reciprocates happily.

This is nice.

"ASGORE, STO- ...Oh."

Both of you pause, before turning around.

Toriel.

**"...Uh. Hi, mom."**

Toriel stares.

"...I suppose there was no fight?"

**"Yeah, pretty much."**

Reluctantly, I pull away from dad and walk over to Mom.

Another hug, this time from Toriel.

This is also nice.

Slowly, I pull back and stand between the two of them.

You take back control.

"...So. Tori. How you been?"

Toriel blinks in surprise. "...Well, I suppose-"

The wall explodes.

"HEY!! EVERYBODY STOP FIGHTING!!!!!"

Undyne rushes through the newly-made hole in Asgore's throne room.

"Oh. 'Sup, Undyne?" You ask casually.

Undyne's bewildered face in that moment is something you doubt you'll ever forget.

"...Oh. Hey. Guess you did it, kid."

She walks over to Asgore.

"Uh... Asgore... Is that your Ex?" Asgore winces, though not from physical pain.

"Oh. That's rough, buddy." She pats him on the shoulder.

You smirk. "So, Tori, what-"

Alphys rushes in. She probably came here with Undyne.

"H-Hey! E-Everybody! S-Stop f-fighting or-"

She sees Undyne, and she immediately starts to blush intently.

Guess she didn't come here with Undyne.

"...Oh. Uh. Hi."

"Hey, Alph. You're early. Pick a spot."

She blinks. "W-What-"

You smile genuinely. "Something tells me this is about to become a reunion."

And, right on cue-

"HEY!!! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE!!! THEN I'LL!!! BE FORCED!!! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!!!"

"Hey, Papyrus."

"AH!!! HELLO, HUMAN!!! IT SEEMS YOU MADE PEACE WITHOUT MY HELP!!! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!!!"

He then rushes over to Toriel.

"HELLO, YOUR MAJESTY!!!"

He rushes over to Asgore.

"HELLO, YOUR MAJESTY!!! AGAIN!!!"

He rushes over to you.

"PSST. HUMAN. DID ASGORE SHAVE??? AND... CLONE HIMSELF???"

Toriel giggles.

"Oh, don't be silly young skeleton!"

"yeah, pap, that's my job," sans interrupts. When did he enter the room...?

Surprise and recognition flits across Toriel's face.

She turns toward sans, a strange expression on her face.

"Oh! Greetings! I... Believe we may have met before?"

"uh. yeah. hey. name's sans. and you're... toriel?"

Oh My God is sans _blushing!?_

***I have found my new ship. Tans...? No, Soriel.**

_Chara, I'm going to say this as polite as possible. Please. Shut up._

You can hear me laughing in the back of your mind.

"Oh, and this must be your brother, Papyrus!"

Oh no.

"AH!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS ME!!! THIS IS THE THIRD BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!"

"Oh, Papyrus... What does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

"...SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES???"

"No, silly! A skeleton tiles his roof with..."

And then, she and sans together:

" _shin-_ gles."

" _Shin-_ gles!"

For a few seconds, nobody moves.

Then;

"MY LIFE IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, A PUN-FILLED HECK."

Everybody laughs. Even Papyrus.

sans and Toriel are looking at each other in _that way._

_...Okay, Chara. I think you have a point._

It seems some of the other people in the room recognize 'that look.'

Mainly, Asgore, who looks quite forlorn.

Undyne notices.

"Aw, come on, big guy! Everyting's gonna be fine! There are... Uh, plenty of fish in the sea? Is that the human phrase?"

"Y-Yeah, Mr. Dreemurr, sir! S-Sometimes, y-you gotta stop g-going after f-fuzzy boss monsters and... G-Get to k-know a r-really cute fish?"

...

"I-It's a metaphor."

Suddenly, Mettaton- EX forme- butts in.

" **Oh, come ON! Will the two of you just _smooch already_? The audience is _dying_ for some romantic action!**"

He's carrying a video camera.

"If by the audience, you mean you!" You shout, still absolutely beaming.

"HEY, SHUT UP! Man, the nerve of that guy, right!?" Undyne shouts.

...

"Alphys?"

"No. H-he's right. Let's DO IT!"

Ah, yes. Channeling the Undyne energy.

Undyne makes a sound that equates to about "??????"

"WELL???? UH???? I GUESS?????????"

They're about to do it-!

_I've only missed my helmet twice this run. The first was with Mettaton in a dress. They just beat Mettaton in a dress._

Luckily, Toriel stops them.

"Wait! Not in front of Locke! He is still too young!"

"Ex-CUSE me? I have never, in my life, been more offended by something I completely agree with."

Everyone laughs.

Toriel is beaming. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for quite a while. But... Seeing all the good friends you've made... I don't think that will be a problem."

You smile back. "Oh, I don't plan to stay here my whole life. That barrier? It's goin' _down._ Within my lifetime, I mean."

Everybody is joyously laughing and talking and everything is _perfect._

Nothing could beat this. That feeling you felt, when Ness and Paula were dancing? Take that, and multiply it by _ten._

Nothing could ruin this... Absolutely nothing-

"Hey, Papyrus. How did you know when to call everybody here?"

"HM???"

"The timing feels a bit convenient, I mean. Were you spying on the castle?"

"OH, NOT AT ALL!!! BUT, BECAUSE A MAGICIAN NEVER REVEALS HIS SECRETS, LET'S JUST SAY..."

If music were playing, it would stop right about now.

"A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

"...A... Tiny... Flower?"

It seems Alphys has come to the same conclusion you have.

And that conclusion:

'Fuck.'

Massive vines appear and suddenly fill the room, crisscrossing throughout the garden.

They're massive. They're giant.

They're supercharged by Six Human SOULs.

And, this time, your friends are all being held captive, too.

And Flowey pops up in front of you.

"Howdy! It's me- FLOWEY the FLOWER!'

"God fucking dammit, Flowey."

Outwardly, you look calm. Inwardly, you rapidly check for your SAVE file in a panic-

Thank god, you can still access it. You can Load to...

Just before the reunion? Huh. How 'bout that.

Now confident, you stare at Flowey.

"What's your game here, A-Flowey?"

***...You were going to say something else.**

_Yes I was._

*** _What. Were you going. To say._**

But Flowey unknowingly interjects before you can answer me.

"My game? My _game!?_ You don't get it, do you!? This whole _WORLD_ is a game- And you're the player! But _I_ was the player once, and I _will_ be again!"

That... Analogy is scarily sound.

"Well, maybe that's true. But I still have the SAVE file, Flowey. You can't win, because no matter how many times it takes, I'll win eventually."

"You say that now... But you don't see the _rest_ of my plan, do you?"

He winks.

"It's not just control I'm after. Not anymore. Now, I have something to fight for."

_Shit he knows_

"After all... We have a mutual friend, don't we, 'Mr. Locke?'"

You clench your fists in anger.

***What's he talking about?**

"I know you probably don't recognize me, but you will. Soon."

***He's gone mad.**

_No. He's more sane now than he has been in a long time._

***...What?**

"In three... Two... One..."

"YO! STOP!!"

Dozens of monsters rush into the throne room.

You can see more behind them- And at their head is Drago.

"I don't know who this guy is, Locke, but I know you can beat him! So! Do it already!!!"

You smirk. "That was the plan."

You turn towards Flowey-

Wait. He's smiling.

...Oh shit.

"Just. As. Planned."

He turns toward you. "Before I end this, I hope you know this is your fault. You _made_ them love you. You _made_ them come here. _You made this possible._ Take that as you will, Chara."

***What the fuck!?**

Flowey begins to glow. The cheers quiet down.

"Now, if you excuse me, I have a few hundred thousand Monster SOULs to absorb."

No! This was bad, this was _very very bad-_

You lunge forward, but you're not fast enough.

The world goes white, and you close your eyes to block out the light.

* * *

**PART 4-8: ALL OUR HOPES AND DREAMS**

* * *

When the world stops being so bright, Locke opens his eyes.

He's standing in a void... But he's not alone.

There's a small Boss Monster in front of him.

He's fuzzy. He's short. And his back is to Locke.

He's also very, _very_ familiar.

***...No.**

"...Finally."

***... _No_.**

"I was so tired of being a Flower."

***No, No, NO!**

He turns around. He's adorable.

"Chara, I know you're there. No need to hide."

***Please don't... What... No...**

"After all, it's me. Your _Best Friend Forever._ "

He's wearing a locket. The other set in a pair.

He transforms into the same form he was in when he was fused with Chara.

" **ASRIEL DREEMURR.** "

* * *

...It's the end.

I can't believe it...

***You knew, didn't you? In the lab? That's what you were blocking me out for.**

_Yeah._

Asriel begins to speak. His voice is deeper than it was in his child form.

"You know, Chara, I don't really care about this world anymore."

He swings a paw. Fire blasts out towards you. You dodge.

"Everything in it... All the people and places... None of them mean anything. Not without you."

More fire. More dodging... He's not using his whole potential.

"But now that you're back? We can finally be _complete_ again."

He claps his paws together. A massive fireball jets toward you.

You bat it away with PSI.

"But I know you. You're a determined type of person... And whatever _lies_ your new host told you? You'll see them through to the end unless you see the truth."

"And what truth is that?" You growl out.

Asriel smiles.

"That we're better..."

The void explodes into color.

" **Together.** "

The real fight begins.

Stars are falling from the sky- They hit the invisible ground, and explode into more stars- You're surrounded by projectiles- But...

***I know this attack- 'Star Blazing.' The small stars always go directly towards you, so keep moving!**

You roll and leap and _dodge_ -

And you're still standing.

You think about why you're here... You can feel the empty space in your pockets getting smaller and smaller.

Asriel raises a brow. "Heh. Guess I shouldn't have expected you to go down so easily, huh?"

"No!" You shout out in response.

"Well, that's fine. Let's keep up the pressure then, eh?"

His arm transforms into a cannon. You take personal offense to that.

***This is 'Chaos Buster!' Alternate between right and left!**

You dodge right. The shots fly past.

Left. Right. Left.

The cannon begins to charge- A moment of hesitation-

It fires. A last-second shield-

_IT HURTS._ It feels like a screw is being drilled into your skull.

But the shield holds.

You reach into your pocket-

!

There's... A star-shaped piece of candy?

It's pulsing with Red and Yellow. Your SOUL colors.

You eat it. Tastes like Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie.

Your HP was restored. Your injuries fade.

Asriel smirks. "Once we're done here, the whole world will reset- But, instead of being alone, we'll be here together. The world WILL bow to us. It's what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

**"No, that's not-"**

The next attack interrupts me.

Lightning bolts strike the ground around you. You get hit once- _You're trapped in a memory-_ But you power through.

***'Shocker breaker!' Lightning never strikes in the same place twice in a row!**

You keep it in mind. When a bolt strikes, you move there- Again, Again, Again-

You grab a candy and eat it.

Tastes like Spaghetti, cooked with love... And various other, questionable ingredients.

Asriel growls. "How-!? Nevermind. Here's one _you_ taught me!"

Two massive broadswords- ***Chaos Sabres!-** appear in his hands and he begins to swing at you.

Roll, duck, parry with my knife-

You leap back, but the sword grazes you.

You grab a candy and eat.

Tastes like a suplex... Somehow.

Asriel doesn't look happy. The swords disappear, and an arm becomes a cannon.

It's Chaos Buster, again, but faster. Chaos Buster II?

Left. Right. Left. Right. PAIN. Left. Dodge the massive beam.

You eat a candy.

Takes like instant noodles.

"...I don't get this. Why do you still fight me, Chara? Didn't you want this? Don't you still love me?"

He sneers. "Or do you care about this worthless shell of a person more?"

**"Of course, it's you! And that's why I'm still helping Locke fight!"**

He blinks. "You've got this so backwards..."

**"Well, you do too!"**

"Hmph."

Shocker breaker II.

The lightning falls from the sky again, and you dodge- PAIN- again, even if you get hit-

You eat another candy.

Tastes like freshly brewed tea.

Asriel doesn't say anything this time.

Instead, he just fires off a massive fire attack, but the fireballs are rainbow-colored because _of course they are-_

You intercept with your own fire.

Your fire is beaten back almost effortlessly.

PAINPAINPAIN-

Shakily, you grab a candy and eat it.

Tastes like illegal Hot Dogs.

You stand up again.

Asriel's face widens in... Realization?

"So, they're still helping you...? I thought I silenced them..."

You smirk. "Never underestimate the power of friendship."

You don't mention you're out of candies. Asriel doesn't need to know that.

Asriel's jaw drops in anger.

"Friendship? _Friendship!?_ Look at where 'Friendship' got me! I was a _Soulless abomination!_ Friendship never got _me_ anything!"

"It got you Chara," You point out.

He screams. The Chaos Sabres appear.

He's swinging them with wild abandon, but they're still incredibly _fast-_

"YOU! WON'T!"

Swing.

"TAKE! THEM!"

Swing.

"AWAY! FROM!"

Swing.

"ME! AGAIN!!!"

Stab.

...

Dimly, you realize there's a sword stuck in your chest.

***NO!**

You look down. You look up.

Asriel is breathing heavily. He lets go of the sword.

You stumble backwards, sword still stuck.

You fall over. There's no coming back from that.

**HP: 0/80**

Crack.

_Lucas..._

_I promise I'll see you again._

But it refused.

Slowly, centimeter by centimeter, your SOUL begins to stitch itself back together.

Slowly, you begin to _get up._

Your massive, _fatal_ wound begins to, beyond all comprehension, heal.

You tear the sword out of your chest. It dissapates.

You stare Asriel in the eyes.

He's completely stunned. Is that... Fear in his eyes?

"...H-How?"

You don't answer. You keep staring.

"...What... Are you?"

You shrug.

Asriel's face twists into amusement- But you can tell it's just a mask to hide the fear.

"...Well! This was unexpected. I suppose I'll actually have to show you my _Real_ power!"

And the whole world goes white.

* * *

You struggle.

...Can't move your body.

You struggle.

Can't move your body.

You struggle.

Can't move your body.

You try to reach your SAVE file.

...

Nothing.

Seems SAVING really is impossible...

...

But... Maybe... With what little power we have...

We can SAVE someone- no, _many_ someone elses.

You call out the first name that comes to mind.

_Drago!_

* * *

_I don't have many friends..._

_'Worthless'_

_'LIMBLESS FREAK'_

_''They?' Really?'_

_'Oh, it's just a phase. [REDACTED]'ll get over it._

_..._

_But. I have one REALLY good one._

_'Be who you want to be! I know I certainly don't.'_

_'I like your magic. I know a guy that can do gravity magic...'_

_'Hey, what if you used your magic to play piano? I can teach you!'_

The Lost Soul was set free.

* * *

_Undyne!_

* * *

_At ten years old, I lost everything..._

_'...WHY!?'_

_'DIE!!'_

_'TRAITOR!'_

_But now, I gained everything._

_'HEY, ALPHYS!!!'_

_'This is the second-best tea I've ever had.'_

_'...Thanks for giving these to me.'_

The Lost Soul was set free.

* * *

_Papyrus!_

* * *

_PEOPLE ACT LIKE I DON'T HEAR THEM..._

_'Oh, that's Papyrus. He's a weirdo.'_

_'Hah! He's such an idiot.'_

_'Does he even have friends?'_

_BUT I DON'T CARE WHAT I SAY! I WILL HELP THEM ANYWAY! THAT'S WHAT MY NEW FRIEND TAUGHT ME!_

_'...Why are you helping me?'_

_'Thank you!'_

_'Hey, wanna be friends?'_

The Lost Soul was set free.

* * *

_sans!_

* * *

_nothing matters... it'll all just be erased anyway._

_'Sans, get up! Get working!'_

_'I'm not raising those... things. Children are not meant to be in a lab.'_

_' **Frisk #13, Run #22** '_

_but now? the future awaits._

_'i've always wanted to see the stars...'_

_'...heh. funny. i actually believe you.'_

_'i'm proud of you, kiddo. always.'_

The Lost Soul was set free.

* * *

_Alphys!_

* * *

_If I just keep lying- to everyone- to myself- everything'll be okay._

_'...I d-don't... I c-can't...'_

_'Uh... Y-Yeah! H-He's 100% R-robot! T-Totally!'_

_'...W-what h-h-have I-I d-done...?'_

_...No. That's not true! I have friends to lean on!_

_'HEY, ALPHYS!!!'_

_' **one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. thanks asgore** '_

_'No. He's right. Let's DO IT!'_

The Lost Soul was set free.

* * *

It's only now that you're realizing the truth... The amount of effect you've had on people's lives.

***Let's save the rest of them, shall we?**

You begin to call out as many names as you remember.

Froggit. Loox. Whimsun. Moldsmal. Misgop. Vegetoid. Napstablook. Snowdrake. Chilldrake. Ice Cap. Gyftrot. That Nice Cream Guy. Definitely not Jerry. Doggo. Dogamy. Dogaressa. Lesser Dog. Greater Dog. Glyde. The Annoying Dog. Aaron. Shyren. Woshua. Moldbygg. Napstablook. Temmie. The Annoying Dog (Again.) Gerson. Vulkin. Tsunderplane. Pyrope. That Royal Guard Couple. Muffet. Bratty. Catty. Final Froggit. Whimsalot. Astigmatism. Madjick. Knight Knight. Mettaton. Endogeny. Reaper Bird. Lemon Bread. Snowdrake's mom.

...

All these people...

You've changed their lives so much.

And now, only three more to go.

_Toriel and Asgore! Together!_

* * *

_Chara..._ _We're so_ _sorry..._

***Don't be... It was never your fault.**

***...I love you guys so much.**

_And we love you, too._

***...Thank you. For everything.**

_It was our pleasure._

* * *

...Only one more name to call.

Go ahead... I promise. He'll hear-

_Chara._

...What?

_Chara._

What are you doing?

_Chara Dreemurr._

...Stop.

_Chara Dreemurr._

...Why?

_You deserve it just as much as anybody else._

But-

_NONE OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT. What happened to you on the surface? It's over now. You can be the you you were_ meant _to be._

...

_Chara Dreemurr. Wake up._

...I...

...

...

Thank you... 

_The Lost Soul..._

...Was set free.

_Now, Chara, it's your turn. He's your friend, not mine, after all._

...I... I promise. I'll save him.

_Heh. You didn't need to promise._

_I would've believed you if even if you didn't say anything._

* * *

The light fades, and Asriel is left staring at...

...

It was impossible...

And yet, Chara was _right there,_ in front of him- not as a ghost, or a spirit, or in a host, but _completely Chara._

Slowly, Chara stared Asriel in the face and said a single word.

***Asriel.**

* * *

_I was lost for a while. I didn't feel like myself anymore..._

_..._

_Wait. What is this?_

* * *

***Asriel.**

* * *

_No...NO! I DON'T NEED ANYBODY!!_

* * *

***Asriel!**

* * *

_'Chara-'_

* * *

_GET AWAY FROM ME!!_

* * *

***Asriel!**

* * *

_'Chara, I-'_

* * *

_STOP IT!!!_

* * *

***ASRIEL!**

* * *

_'Chara, I l-_

* * *

_...Do you know why I'm still doing this? Why I still care about you so much, even after all this time?_

* * *

***ASRIEL!**

* * *

_...It's because you're special, Chara. You're... The only person I can feel... Anything for anymore._

* * *

_'Chara, I lo-'_

* * *

***...Asriel?**

* * *

_I don't want you to go... I don't want you to leave. Not again. Never again._

* * *

_'Chara, I lov-'_

* * *

***...Azzy...**

* * *

_So, please... Stop this..._

_AND JUST LET ME WIN!!!!!_

* * *

The attack comes out of nowhere.

It's a massive beam of light- Impossible to dodge, counter, or block in any way.

It hurt.

**-99999999**

But it refused.

**-99999999**

But it refused.

**-99999999**

_But it REFUSED._

***ASRIEL DREEMURR!!!**

* * *

_Asriel didn't really like inner Home. The whole place was way too purple for his tastes..._

_But he still had to walk through it on his way to his daily, self-imposed sunbathing session._

_However, when he got there, he found something... Impossible. Something that would change his life, for better or worse._

_He found me._

_"help..."_

_"Huh?"_

_Slowly, Asriel walked into the next room._

_"It sounded like it came from over here," he muttered to himself._

_He freezes when he sees me... Did I fall, or something?_ _"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you?"_

_The person groans. He supposes I'm too badly hurt to speak properly._

_Asriel helps me up._

_"It's alright... Here, get up!"_

_I mutter a thank you._

_"Hey, what's your name?"_

_You feel me freeze for a moment. Eventually..._

_"...Chara, huh? That's a cool name!"_

_"My name is Asriel! Asriel Dreemurr!"_

* * *

_'Chara, I love you.'_

* * *

Slowly, the boy named Claus opens his eyes.

The world around him is a dark void, continuing endlessly in all directions.

He carefully stands up...

Then, he sees two people embracing each other nearby.

It's Chara and Asriel.

Asriel is crying.

"I-I'm s-s-so s-sorry..."

Chara is crying too.

"Y-You a-always were a-a c-crybaby, A-Azzy."

Asriel giggles.

"H-heh... Yeah."

The two of them pull away from each other.

They both turn to Claus.

"...Howdy... Claus, was it? Nice to meet you properly."

Claus smiles. "Nice to meet you too, Asriel. I've heard a lot about you from Chara over here. Only good things, though."

All three fallen children smile.

Chara speaks up. "Asriel... I... I have something to say."

Claus and Asriel both turn towards them.

"...Everything that happened... All of it was my fault. I'm... It's my fault. I never should have done that stupid, _stupid plan_ -"

"Chara, no! It was my fault! I went against you at the worst possible time-"

"Actually, both of you are at fault."

The siblings turn towards Claus.

"Yeah, you heard me. Asriel, you should have never agreed to the plan in the first place, and Chara, you shouldn't have come up with such a stupid idea anyway."

"...So... We both did bad?" Asriel asks sadly.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty sobering thought." Chara responds.

Asriel just rolls his eyes, even though he's smiling.

Chara smirks.

For a while, the three of them just sit there and soak in each other's presences.

...

Asriel sighs.

"...You guys both know I can't keep these SOULs inside of me."

Chara freezes. Claus nods sadly.

"Azzy, no! You-"

" _Chara._ We've been dead for years. We... We can't stay like this. We need to give everybody the freedom they deserve. The freedom we died trying to give them."

Chara sighs.

"...You're right."

Asriel steps back.

"It's time to break the barrier... Once and for all."

Asriel spreads his arms out.

Asriel begins to float into the air.

The SOULs appear- Not just the human ones, but the Monster ones too.

They begin to orbit Asriel, like hundreds of thousands of planets around a sun.

Asriel throws his hand out.

The SOULs all freeze- And then they all jet forward- There's a buffeting wind- There's a massive BOOM.

...

Crack.

SHATTER.

The barrier was destroyed.

Asriel floats down to the ground.

He stumbles upon landing.

Claus and Chara both rush to catch him.

He smiles sadly.

"I have to go, now. I can't hold this form for much longer, and soon, I'll be a flower again."

Chara winces. "Is there anything we can do?"

Claus sighs. "I don't think there is..."

Asriel smiles sadly again.

"Don't worry. I'll be alright... Alone. Underground."

"Oh NO you freaking _don't_."

Both of the siblings turn to Claus in surprise.

"Staying alone is probably the absolute _worst_ thing you can possibly do. Then, you'll be alone to stew in misery. Misery becomes anger. Anger becomes hate. Hate becomes action. Action becomes tragedy."

He points at Chara. "That's why Chara had to run to the mountain in the first place. If you guys hadn't been there to find them, then we wouldn't have the Chara we have today- We'd have a Demon. So, no. You're coming with- Whether you're Flowey or not."

Asriel blinks. "Uh. Okay. I guess." He turns to Chara. "Is that okay with you?"

Chara nods. "Gives us more time to think of a plan to fully bring you back."

Asriel chuckles. "You're never giving up on that, are you?"

"Nope! I don't think I will- or _can-_ rest until you're saved."

Asriel nods a little. "Alright. Sure."

Chara turns to Claus. "We've been talking a lot about us... But what about you?"

Claus smiles. "Oh, you don't need to worry about me. Once Lucas arrives with the rest of the Nowhere Islands, I'll have everything I could ever want."

The siblings nod.

_Claus!_

...Huh?

_You need to wake up! This is all just a bad dream!_

"I think everybody's calling for me. You guys ready to go back home?"

They look at each other, then back to you.

"...Yeah."

"Yes."

* * *

You open your eyes.

You're met with seven loud sighs of relief. Toriel, Asgore, sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, and Drago are all standing around you in a half-circle.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake!" You hear Toriel exclaim.

You slowly turn your head towards her.

"Howdy," you say weakly.

Alphys pipes up. "We d-didn't know w-what to do! We were s-so scared, and you wouldn't wake up, a-and-"

"Alphys, calm down!" Undyne shouts. She turns toward you. "HEY. CLAUS. Tell us next time you decide to take a nap, okay!?"

You smile- Then your eyes widen in realization.

"...Wait. What... Did you just call me by my name?"

Everyone pauses. 

Drago shifts from foot to foot awkwardly. "So. Uh. We kind of just... Woke up here? Knowing your name?"

You shrug. "That's good. I'd rather not have to re-introduce myself to the entirety of Monsterkind again."

**"Yeah, that'd suck."**

You freeze and slowly turn around.

I'm standing behind you, slightly translucent, but smirking all the while.

"Oh! yeah. Uh. They've kinda been there the whole time? You know them, punk?"

You suck in a breath. You address me.

"...They can see you too?"

I nod. **"'Parently so. I woke up like this, too, at the same time the others did."**

sans steps toward me.

He sticks out a hand with a very obvous whoopee cushion in it.

"nice to meet 'cha for real, pal. name's sans. sans the skeleton."

I stare at his hand. Carefully, I reach out, and focus.

My hand turns slightly more opaque. You feel your energy drain a little bit.

I grab sans's hand.

_pffptpbthtthtbppthtbb..._

_pth._

Everybody stares.

You smile.

"Never before have I been so happy to hear a whoopee cushion. Congrats, Chara- You're now a real spirit."

I'm shaking. I can... I can...

I turn towards Mom and Dad.

**"...Can I?"**

They both rush forward.

You can feel your energy draining. But you're okay with that, if it gets me a hug.

**"...We should probably stop. Doing this drains Claus."**

"Oh!"

The two adults, reluctantly, pull away from Chara.

You feel your energy recover a little when I go transparent again.

**"...I think I'm gonna stick around as a voice in your head for a bit. I'm not sure how much longer you can sustain me for, and I don't want to find out."**

I turn into red particles that fly into your chest.

You blink.

"The fact that this isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to me is... Sad."

Everybody laughs.

* * *

The sunset is beautiful.

Sure, it's an anomaly- A major change between Resets- But you can't bring yourself to care.

Everybody watches, completely transfixed.

"...It's beautiful. I haven't felt this in... Centuries."

You look over at Asgore.

"Is it just as good as you remember?"

He smiles widely.

"It's even better."

The eight of us- Nine, if you include me- Watch the sunset, not a care in the world.

"Ahem."

Everybody turns.

Frisk is standing there, smirking.

"Got room for one more?"

* * *

**PART 4-9: THE LOCKE FAMILY**

* * *

"Are you sure they're going to land here?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I had a vision. Visions don't lie."

Seven people stand on the beach. One floats above it. The other is planted in the soil.

You, me, Ness, Paula, Harmony, Flowey and Toriel are all there, seemingly waiting for something.

"Yeah, but what about that time with the dog-"

"It was technically correct."

"But-"

"Ness, stop being impatient."

"It's in my blood! I can't help it."

Toriel is smiling at their antics. Flowey rolls his eyes. I laugh.

You smile a little too, before going back to watching the horizon...

...

Wait.

"I think I see them!"

Everyone pauses and immediately focuses their attention on the distant horizon.

There is, indeed, a ship. A very white ship.

It's quite far away, but it's approaching rapidly.

...

Every stands at attention.

The ship is getting closer.

...

"That thing is massive. Wow..."

...

**"Technology has come quite a ways since my death."**

"Chara, you died when people still thought the Witch trials were completely justified. You get no say in this."

**"Screw you and everything you stand for."**

The ship stops. A long, metal board starts to come out of the side, landing on the beach in front of you.

Five people walk down it.

The first is a dog. A very familiar dog, that, upon seeing you, rushes up to you and starts rapidly barking, tail wagging at a mile a minute.

"Hey, Boney," you say happily as you kneel down and start petting him.

The second is a bearded man wearing denim overalls and a blue shirt.

He looks warily to Flowey and Toriel, but relaxes a little when Toriel smiles at him and Flowey rolls his eyes.

The third is a teenage girl in a pink T-shirt and blue jeans. She definitely has the 'punk rock' style going on... Even if the pink hair kind of ruins it. Or maybe adds to it?

She raises a brow at Ness. "I think I saw you in a movie once," she says simply.

Ness smirks. "You probably confused me for a less handsome actor. Don't worry, people get confused about that all the time."

"Well, if you consider twelve-year-olds as handsome at all, then yeah, I guess."

Ness looks completely floored at that statement.

The last two people walk off together.

Flint seems to have kept the cowboy-inspired outfit. Lucas, however, is wearing... Your old shirt. Huh. He's also wearing khaki shorts.

They stare at you.

You stand up, a smile on your face. Boney is still wagging happily.

"Hey, Dad. Lucas."

Neither of them move.

Lucas steps forward. He holds out a hand.

You know what this is. You stick out a hand of your own.

You do your super-secret twin handshake. It's so secret, I can't even describe it.

At the end of it, Lucas has tears streaming down his cheeks.

"...Do you...?"

"My name is Claus," you say simply.

And at that, Lucas lunges forward and wraps you in a hug- One that you eagerly reciprocate.

Your dad wraps his arms around you two, too.

Everything has come together perfectly to create this happy ending.

It's not perfect- Hell, it could be _so much better-_ But even still... You can't ask for much more than this.

Your old family is here. Your new family is here. You may not have Hinawa- Er, Mom- and Asriel may still be a SOULless Flower- But even then...

Well. There's not much more to say, is there?

But, right now...

You're filled with Determination.

**WORLD SAVED.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Updated!)


	6. Extras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes, more Lore, and a teaser for the next part of the series.

* * *

**PART EX-1:** **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

* * *

 **Hello to everybody reading this! I just wanted to thank you for reading this fic through to the end. Here's hoping this extra part will clear up some questions about the lore, as well as explain any plot holes you felt the fic had.** ****

**Also, be sure to leave a comment! Whether it's criticism, compliments, or just general stuff, i appreciate it! Those sorts of things mean a lot to me. Thanks again!**

* * *

**PART EX-2: THE THIRTEEN FRISKS**

* * *

FRISK #1: "Frisk ???"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 8

APPEARANCE: In-Game appearance, with less yellow skin of course.

STATS

LOVE: Min 6, Max 12

HP: 20, MP: N/A

ATK: 10

DEF: 2

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Stick/Band-Aid

RUN COUNT: 3

PERSONALITY: Kind of a brat. Has minor anger issues, but still is kind at heart. 

Special notes: Looks and acts exactly the same as Frisk #13.

* * *

FRISK #2: "Francesca ???"

GENDER: Female

AGE: 12

APPEARANCE: Blue and purple sweatshirt instead of sweater. Wears Corduroy pants instead of shorts. Sneakers instead of boots.

STATS

LOVE: 1

HP 10, MP: N/A

ATK: 1

DEF: 8

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Hiking Stick/Proper Bandage

RUN COUNT: 1

PERSONALITY: Kind to a fault. Crybaby. Not nearly as Determined as the other Frisks.

Special Notes: The only Frisk to not finish a run. Died to Undyne one too many times, causing a full Reset instead of a Load.

* * *

FRISK #3: "Frisk ???"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 15

APPEARANCE: Blue and Purple T-shirt. Denim jeans. Sneakers.

STATS

HP: 27, MP: N/A

LOVE: Min 17, Max 20

ATK: 32

DEF: 0

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Swiss Army Knife/Proper Bandage

RUN COUNT: 2

PERSONALITY: Very racist towards Monsters. Obsessed with vengeance.

Special Notes: Managed to completely genocide all monsterkind. Made a deal with LOVEd-up Chara to restore the world in return for their SOUL. In all future runs, Chara became far more of a fixture... Perhaps because of this?

* * *

FRISK #4: "Frisk Estella"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 16

APPEARANCE: Wears a brown robe with casual clothes underneath. Also has boots.

STATS

HP: 21, MP: 372

LOVE: Min 6, Max 6. Started at 3.

ATK: 2

DEF: 9

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Time-Based Magic

GEAR: Wand/Cloak

RUN COUNT: 1

PERSONALITY: Very distant towards everyone... Except sans, oddly enough. Wanted to rush through the Underground as fast as possible. Takes responsibilites _very_ seriously.

Special Notes: Youngest Sorcerer Supreme in centuries... Seemed to put a lot of pressure on them. Went to Mt. Ebbot with a team to investigate time fluctuations, likely the ones caused by Flowey. Teamed up with Dr. Andonauts. Frisk was the only one who fell. Also, the only Frisk to actively try to get rid of Chara.

* * *

FRISK #5: "Frisk ???"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 7

APPEARANCE: Very small and cute. Wears an oversized sweater, though their shorts seem to fit fine...

STATS

HP: 70, MP: 947

LOVE: Min 6, Max 19

ATK: 60

DEF: 12

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Time-Based Magic

GEAR: Stick/Band-Aid

RUN COUNT: 17

PERSONALITY: Seems to have been forced to grow up too quickly. Way too mature for their age, which belies their appearance. Got corrupted over the span of the Resets.

Special Notes: Easily the most powerful Frisk, though their control over their magic is... Spotty, at best. Also the first Frisk to start 'grinding' for endings. Aborted a genocide run because of sans.

* * *

FRISK #6: "Francesca Martinez"

GENDER: Female

AGE: 24

APPEARANCE: Wears a Fourside Police uniform.

STATS

HP: 35, MP: N/A

LOVE: 9, Started with 5

ATK: 30

DEF: 4

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Gun/Badge

RUN COUNT: 1

PERSONALITY: Attempts to act serious all the time, but is secretly fun-loving at heart. Only really opened up to Papyrus...

Special Notes: The only adult Frisk. Only had one run, and may not have even known about the power to SAVE/Load until the very end.

* * *

FRISK #7: "Aiden 'Frisk' Holder"

GENDER: Male

AGE: 12

APPEARANCE: Started off wearing a zombie costume with black tights underneath. Quickly changed into one of Chara's old sweaters once he reached Toriel's.

STATS

HP: 35, MP: N/A, PP: 60

LOVE: Min 6, Max 20

ATK: 12

DEF: 3

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Weak PSI abilities: PSI Freeze, Life-Up and Shield

GEAR: Candy Bag/Creepy mask, Had some candy as Items

RUN COUNT: 17

PERSONALITY: Seems to be angry at existence itself and lashes out constantly. Otherwise, very quiet and reserved.

Special Notes: Stayed with Toriel far longer than any other Frisk. Was part of the foster-care system for a while before falling. Started to grind for endings relatively early on. Managed to beat sans, but also RESET before LOVEd-up Chara could destroy anything. 'Holder' is actually a placeholder name, placed there by the Foster System.

* * *

FRISK #8: "Frisk ???"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 10

APPEARANCE: The only Frisk to have a drastic appearance shift. Blonde instead of brunette. Has a purely blue sweater instead of blue and purple. Also far more 'posh' looking.

STATS

HP: 20, MP: N/A

LOVE: Min 1, Max 6

ATK: 15

DEF: 2

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Walking Stick/Hiking Backpack

RUN COUNT: 2

PERSONALITY: The stereotypical spoiled rich kid. Learned to be far more generous in the underground.

Special Notes: Was on a walk with their family when they got lost and fell down. The closest any Frisk ever got to completing a True Pacifist run. The only reason they didn't was because they killed Flowey after the battle with him.

* * *

FRISK #9: "Unknown"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: Unknown

APPEARANCE: Looks relatively close to Frisks #1 and 13, but still different in many small ways.

STATS

HP: 30, MP: N/A

LOVE: 25, started with 10

ATK: 40

DEF: 4

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Bloodied Knife/Bloodied Bandage

RUN COUNT: 1

PERSONALITY: Completely absent of personality.

Special Notes: After falling down, this Frisk just went and murdered every single monster without saying a word or even changing expression once. Erased purposefully by Chara, who didn't receive any LOVE this time.

* * *

FRISK #10: "Frisk ???"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 11

APPEARANCE: Wears a lab coat and a badge that shows they're an intern of Andonauts Labs.

STATS

HP: 32, MP: N/A

LOVE: Min 7, Max 21, Started with 2

ATK: 8

DEF: 9

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, incredible intelligence, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Lab Coat/Gardening Scissors

RUN COUNT: 19

PERSONALITY: Started out as an eager-to-learn child that quickly began to believe in doing terrible things in the name of Science.

Special Notes: Fell into the underground trying to gather some of the Golden Flowers that grow on the mountain. Started off relatively similar to Tom Holland's Spider-Man in terms of personality, but quickly deviates after realizing the power of the Resets.

* * *

FRISK #11: "Frisk ???"

GENDER: Unknown

AGE: 17

APPEARANCE: Wears a dark, long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Also has black shoes. Came with a ski-mask.

STATS

HP: 12, MP: N/A

LOVE: Min 3, Max 8, started with 2.

ATK: 12

DEF: 9

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Great agility, Unawakened Magic?

GEAR: Swiss army knife/Ski mask

RUN COUNT: 3

PERSONALITY: Very quippy. Can never stop talking... Unless they want to be sneaky, in which case they can be impossibly stealthy.

Special Notes: A very skilled thief. Could probably steal some pretty valuable stuff if they wanted to, but chooses to go for more of a 'Robin Hood' thing where they steal from the rich and give to the poor. Has pulled off hundreds of heists in their lifetime... At least until they got seen mid-heist and had to run to Mt. Ebott to hide.

* * *

FRISK #12: "Francesca Martinez"

GENDER: Female

AGE: 9, eventually 10

APPEARANCE: Basically a taller, more athletic Frisk.

STATS

HP: 22, MP: 87

LOVE: 1

ATK: 9

DEF: 3

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Time-Based magic that was awakened while Underground

GEAR: Stick/Band-Aid

RUN COUNT: 1

PERSONALITY: Quite kind to everybody. Stayed in Snowdin with the skeleton brothers when she was unable to beat Undyne.

Special Notes: The Frisk that spent the longest amount of time in the Underground in a single run. Stubbornly refused to kill anybody, to the point where she would rather stay in Snowdin then kill Undyne. By the time the Reset happened on its own, the entirety of Snowdin knew she was human, and didn't care. She spent year and a half in Snowdin.

* * *

FRISK #13: "Frisk Dreemurr"

GENDER: Confirmed neither

AGE: 8

APPEARANCE: Exactly the same as Frisk #1.

STATS

HP: 20, MP: 112

LOVE: Min 4, Max 17

ATK: 10

DEF: 2

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Time-Based Magic

GEAR: Stick/Band-Aid

RUN COUNT: 12

PERSONALITY: Same as Frisk #1

Special Notes: Experimented with the Resets somewhat. Had a few people who they stubbornly refused to kill- Namely Papyrus, Toriel, Lesser and Greater dog, and a few more. Eventually had a massive anomaly on one of their resets that led to them waking up on the surface 21 days- Or three underground days- Before they fell down. They later discovered this was because of outside meddling.

* * *

THE MASKED MAN: "Claus Locke"

GENDER: Male

AGE: 10

APPEARANCE: Started off with a helmet, black leather jacket, button-up white shirt, overly baggy orange pants, and black leather boots. After a few runs, changed outfit. No helmet, and he switched his jacket and shirt for one of Chara's old sweaters. He also changed to corduroys and sneakers.

STATS

HP: 80, PP: 500

LOVE: Min 6, Max 23, Started with 6

ATK: 80

DEF: 0

SPECIAL ABILITES: SAVE/Load, Powerful PSI abilities, Karmic abilities

GEAR: Shortsword/Helmet, two drugged PSI caramels, Hand Cannon

RUN COUNT: 4

PERSONALITY: Read the fic, I'm not telling you everything here!

Special Notes: Has a _metal arm,_ as well as an artificial eye. Managed to break the barrier after being tasked to do so by the Yellow Soul of Justice. First _recorded_ Human Judge in history, though likely not actually the only one.

* * *

**PART EX-3: THE FALLEN CHILDREN**

* * *

FALLEN #1: Chara Dreemurr, formerly Cassidy Whitman

SOUL COLOR: Pure Red

GENDER: Unknown (Probably Female)

AGE: 12 at fall, 15 at death

BORN: 889, Underground Year 127

APPEARANCE: Their hair is a strange shade between Brown and Red, and they wear a green and tan sweater, as well as Corduroys. 

STATS

HP: 7

ENDING LOVE: 2, Starting with 2

ATK: 32

DEF: 0

GEAR: Gardening Knife/Heart Locket

PERSONALITY: Very quiet in crowds. Likes to narrate things. When with small groups of people, quite talkative. Has an... _I_ _nteresting_ sense of humor. Doesn't like being touched by anybody but the Dreemurr family. Hates humanity- A lot.

Special Notes: The only human to not be hunted. Adopted child of Asgore and Toriel. Hates their 'false' name with a burning passion, and considers Chara to be their 'True Name.' Part of a long-dead civilization that lived in what is now America. Theorized that the Native Americans may be this civilization's ancestors. Was born with a rare condition known as "Albinism," so they are born with pale skin and red eyes.

* * *

FALLEN #2: Evangeline Carla

SOUL COLOR: Forest-Green

GENDER: Female

AGE: 14

BORN: 922, Underground Year 131

APPEARANCE: Brunette. Wears peasant-looking clothes. Has hair tied in a bun. 

STATS

HP: 11

ENDING LOVE: 1

ATK: 3

DEF: 12

GEAR: Cast-Iron pan/Stained Apron

PERSONALITY: Shows true kindness to all. Polite to everyone, just like her ma taught her.

Special Notes: Killed by Asgore with a trident to the chest. Didn't expect it at all. Didn't fall, but rather entered through the massive Barrier Cave. Killed before Toriel left. Traveled to Mt. Ebott in an effort to track down the 'white beast' that the village had thought killed Chara after her home was destroyed by a group of mysterious raiders... Normal raiders? Or something more sinister?

* * *

FALLEN #3: Elizabeth Bennett

SOUL COLOR: Dark Blue

GENDER: Male

AGE: 10

BORN: 1503, Underground year 214

APPEARANCE: Black hair, ballerina gear.

STATS

HP: 6

ENDING LOVE: 3

ATK: 12

DEF: 5

GEAR: Ballet slippers and Tutu

PERSONALITY: Very quiet and reserved. Favorite thing to do is dance.

Special Notes: Was brought to 'The New World' forcefully by her parents, taking her away from her friends and any potential future as a dancer. Only killed one monster, which was the old Captain of the Royal Guard, and accidentally tripped over a rock and drowned in a river while panicking because of her kill.

* * *

FALLEN #4: Jacques N/A

SOUL COLOR: Reddish-Purple

GENDER: Male

AGE: 14

BORN: 1844, Underground Year 265

APPEARANCE: Has very dark skin. Nowadays, would be classified as "African-American." Fell with tattered clothes, and quickly changed to one of Toriel's many spare sweaters.

STATS

HP: 79

ENDING LOVE: 1

ATK: 15

DEF: 20

GEAR: Fancy Notebook/Cloudy Glasses

PERSONALITY: Very confident in himself, though it is kind of justified. Sometimes refuses to follow commands purely to spite the command giver. Loves learning new things.

Special Notes: Capable of Loading, even if it is a weaker version of the power- He couldn't do it at death, and nor could he do a full Reset. He was a slave in the years before the Civil War, and used his Loading to scout out the perfect escape route, as well as learn to read and write against the wishes of his owners. Killed by Asgore in single combat. Didn't have a name until Toriel gave him one. He was going to escape so he could come back and free the Underground. Friends with his owner's son, Austin.

* * *

FALLEN #5: Austin Jefferson

SOUL COLOR: Yellow

GENDER: Male

AGE: 15

BORN: 1847, Underground Year 265

APPEARANCE: Blonde with blue eyes. Wears a cowboy hat mostly out of nostalgia from when he was younger, though he does have a pretty solid Western accent.

STATS

HP: 25

ENDING LOVE: 2, Starting with 2

ATK: 30

DEF: 5

GEAR: Revolver/Cowboy Hat

PERSONALITY: A natural-born leader. Though not quite _Determined_ , he was strong-willed, and capable of holding his own in a fight with most grown men.

Special Notes: Fell into the underground while looking for a friend. After learning Jacques's goal, he swore he would kill Asgore, as well as free the Underground- And he almost succeeded, only stopped during the final stretch by the Royal Scientist, the late Wing Ding Gaster.

* * *

FALLEN #6: John Kohen

SOUL COLOR: Orange

GENDER: Male

AGE: 14, died at 15

BORN:1919

APPEARANCE: Curly black hair, green eyes, freckles. Looks thin and weak, but is actually quite strong. Always wore a pair of fingerless gloves, an old bandanna with abs drawn on it, and a black-rank karate belt... That he found in the garbage. Otherwise wore ratty clothes.

STATS

HP: 22

ENDING LOVE: 9

ATK: 32

DEF: 1

GEAR: Boxing gloves/Manly Bandanna

PERSONALITY: Has absolutely no self-preservation instinct. Prefers to talk with his fists. Unsurprisingly, got along quite well with Undyne.

Special Notes: Born into a poor Jewish family, his dreams of being a boxer were repeatedly dashed after he got denied over and over from fighting schools for being Jewish. Climbed Mt. Ebott as a training exercise. Fell down and left Toriel, who he found way too overbearing. Ended up stopping in Waterfall's main city, called Cliffside. Became good friends with Undyne. Ended up trying to kill as many monsters as possible in a fit of rage after finding out about the other Fallen. Was eventually stopped by Undyne, though he managed to burn her eye out with one of her own spears.

* * *

FALLEN #7: Hope Monotoli

SOUL COLOR: Cyan

GENDER: Female

AGE: 6

BORN: 1993, Underground year 284

APPEARANCE: Short and stout. Wears a pretty Disney princess dress! 

STATS

HP: 5

ENDING LOVE: 1

ATK: 4

DEF: 0

GEAR: Plastic Knife/Red Ribbon

PERSONALITY: Quiet and courteous. Wants to act like a child, but never really got the chance to be.

Special Notes: Born to the very wealthy Monotoli family. Ran away when her Father was possessed by the Mani-Mani statue. Died upon hitting the ground after falling. Her SOUL was brought to Asgore by a bunch of Ruins monsters who were promoted to Royal Guardsmen quite instantly- Thus, the origins of Final Froggit, Whimsalot and Astigmatism.

* * *

**PART EX-4: THE MEETING**

* * *

You're still not sure quite how Ness managed to fit an extra _six people_ into his apartment without having anybody share a bed who didn't want to. He says he 'had experience due to various single-bedded hotel rooms,' but you're still not sure if he was being serious or joking.

***Couldn't you use your lie detector powers?**

_It doesn't work on Ness, Paula or Poo. Likely because they're all stronger than me._

***Hmmm.**

In the end, though, Ness and Paula took the master bedroom, Asgore took the couch, Toriel took the armchair, and Undyne and Alphys took the guest bed. sans and Papyrus stayed behind because both of them are capable of 'shortcutting' to you guys on short notice- Even if Papyrus only shortcuts in emergencies. Calls teleporting all the time 'LAZY.' Drago also stayed behind because their parents were probably worried about them.

That, of course, left you and Frisk. And... Technically me. But I'm a ghost, so.

Luckily, the two of you are already used to sleeping on the floor. So, you grab a bunch of spare blankets, make a pair of blanket nests, and get to sleep.

* * *

May the wonders of teleportation never cease.

Ness has set up a semi-permanent portal between the apartment and a large, abandoned warehouse where the main base of operations was set up.

There just so happens to be a meeting happening right now.

At the head of the table sits Ness, with Asgore and Toriel across from each other beside him. Undyne, Alphys, sans and Drago sit on Asgore's side. Frisk, Papyrus, you and me sit on Toriel's side.

Ness is standing. There's a whiteboard behind him that's covered in a bunch of legal stuff that you can't decipher no matter how hard you try.

Ness stands up, grabs a laser pointer from the table, and starts to point at the board.

"Okay. So! Does everybody know why we're here?"

Half of us nod. The other half shakes their head.

"Got it. I'll refresh everybody, then."

He points at the board. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say most of you have no idea what most of this means. So, I'll summarize. It's unlikely Eagleland- Er, _America_ is gonna give you guys some of its land so you can start your own country or kingdom. If you still want the Dreemurr kingdom to exist, you're gonna have to ask a much higher level of authority. In my opinion, your best bet is to get citizenship. Fortunately, we're in America. They're used to people asking for citizenship."

Frisk chuckles at that.

"Either way, even though you guys aren't human, you're still sentient beings, which means you can vouch for yourselves. So, we have two options, as I see it. You guys can either claim to be an indigenous people or refugees from a fallen country. Knowing the reputation refugees can have in America, I'd recommend going with the indigenous route."

"How do you know so much legal stuff, anyway?" Frisk asked.

"The UN sometimes calls me in as a human lie detector. Sitting through those meeting teaches you a thing or two... Or a hundred."

"The... You Enn?" Asgore asks, confused.

"Short for United Nations."

"glad to see humanity likes acronyms as much as we do," sans jokes with a smile.

"We really do. Anyway! If you ever want to have a nation of your own-"

"We do not," Asgore says, a strange look on his face. "The great Human-Monster War was caused mainly due to miscommunication between the two races. Our separation caused much of this- The two races kept mainly to themselves..."

"...And because of this, many false rumors were spread among humanity. These rumors led to the human empire declaring war," Toriel finishes.

Ness nods. "So, like the SOUL-Absorbing thing?"

Everybody shifts uncomfortably.

"...Okay. I'm... I'm just going to conveniently leave that part out."

Ness has an odd look on his face.

"...Did anybody ever tell me how the barrier was actually destroyed?"

More uncomfortable shifting.

"...Fuck. Okay, we need an alibi. Asgore, how many humans did you kill?"

Asgore looks away from him.

"...Asgore. Tell me-"

"Six. Six humans."

"...But ni- Eight fell? So... I know Claus here is one of the survivors, but who..."

Ness' gaze drifts to me.

"...Chara, how'd you die?"

I wince. **"That is a very _personal_ story that I would rather not tell right now. Or ever, preferably."**

"...Okay, but did Asgore-"

**"NO."**

"Jeez, okay, just making sure."

Ness turns to you.

"Claus. How did you break the barrier?"

" _I_ didn't. There was a Flower. He Absorbed every SOUL in the underground except mine."

Ness frowns. "You just lied about the Flower part."

You freeze. Everybody turns toward us.

"...Can we move on?"

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"I _can't_ tell you the truth. If I did, I'd be breaking a promise."

"...Fine. But I _will_ find out eventually."

He glances around. "So, that's the _real_ story. What's the official story we're gonna tell everyone?"

**"I have an idea. Let's say the barrier weakened over time, but the Monsters didn't know. Claus, not knowing how strong it was _meant_ to be, used his strongest PSI attack on it and shattered it completely on accident."**

Everybody is staring at me.

...

They turn away, _thank god_.

"I think that works," Undyne says, "But it doesn't account for the other missing children."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. There's only one record of a missing child on Mt. Ebott, and there are a million other ways she could've vanished."

"But... Six other children fell?"

"Yeah. But the others must've been _ancient._ "

"It would make sense," Asgore says. "Time beneath the Barrier was far slower than time on the surface. Seven surface days equated to one underground day."

Ness raised a brow. "So, is that how you and Toriel are still alive?"

"Oh, no. That's a... Specific part of our species."

Ness nods. "Immortality. Got it. Try and market that somehow, we're gonna need all the money we can get."

"...IS GOLD NOT VALUABLE ON THE SURFACE???"

Ness turns to Papyrus. "Actually, it's very valuable. Why?"

"...WELL. UM. OUR CURRENCY IS ACTUALLY GOLD COINS."

Ness stares at him. His gaze turns to the rest of the table.

"And nobody thought to notify me of this because...?"

"...Would you be angry if we thought the same way Papyrus did? We did not think gold was very valuable."

"So... Mt. Ebott is sitting on top of the absolute largest Gold Vein in the world."

Toriel shrugs and nods. "Yes. I suppose gold must be rare?"

"Very. The stuff can sell for a lot of money. Best to sell it when the value's high, though- I'd expect a big market crash afterwards."

"supply and demand?"

"Supply and Demand."

"got it. hey, what's the punishment for an illegal hot dog stand up here?"

"...A fine."

"cool."

Ness just sighs.

"...I'm surrounded by idiots."

"What else is new?" You say with a partially forced smirk.

* * *

**PART EX-5: PORKY MINCH**

* * *

_She raises a brow at Ness. "I think I saw you in a movie once," she says simply._

_Ness smirks. "You probably confused me for a less handsome actor. Don't worry, people get confused about that all the time."_

_"Well, if you consider twelve-year-olds as handsome at all, then yeah, I guess."_

* * *

"...Hey, Ness. You called?"

"Hey, Claus. I... Have a question for you. You were re-built by a group called the Pigmask army, right?"

"...Yeah?"

"What... Was their leader's name?"

"...Why?"

"Please. I need to know."

"...He called himself Porky, but his real name is Pokey. Why?"

Ness is staring into the distance. You don't have a very good feeling about this.

"...Ness?"

His hands are shaking.

"Ness, what-"

He stands up.

"I need to go."

"Wait-"

But he's already gone.

* * *

Twelve hours later, Ness comes back rolling a strange capsule behind him.

Lucas doesn't react well to the capsule.

"...Ness, what... Why do you have... _him?_ "

Ness doesn't say a word. He just looks at Lucas, face completely blank.

* * *

You react even worse.

_"What the fucking hell are you doing!?"_

Ness doesn't respond. He just keeps staring at the capsule in front of him.

"Ness! Answer me, Dammit!"

He turns toward you.

He looks to be near tears.

"...I thought I was over this. Over _him._ "

He turns toward the capsule.

"...I was wrong."

...

"Pokey Minch was my one failure in a sea of victory. I saved the world." That's news to you... "I destroyed Giygas. Everything was perfect. Except for him. I couldn't save him and I'm the one who _made him like this in the first place!_ "

You blink. What?

You take a step back. His hands are sparking with red, blue, and yellow light.

"He asked for forgiveness, but I was bitter and I said nothing. Maybe, if I had just responded, things may have gone differently. Maybe he would have been my fifth party member. Maybe he would have helped us. Maybe he would have been different! But no, I let my anger get ahead of me for _one second_ and I ruin _everything!_ "

The light stops and Ness falls to his knees.

"What good is a hero if they can't save everybody?"

He begins to sob.

"I-I c-can't- I d-don't-"

You wrap your arms around him.

He reciprocates.

After a while, you both pull back.

Ness stands up.

"...When did you last SAVE?"

"...Yesterday. Why?"

"Load. Don't answer me when I ask."

"...Okay."

* * *

"Hey, Claus. I... Have a question for you. You were re-built by a group called the Pigmask army, right?"

"Yeah?"

"What... Was their leader's name?"

"..."

"...Claus-"

"You asked me not to answer. In another timeline."

"...Oh."

This time, Ness does not leave for twelve hours. Instead, he schedules a therapy appointment.

* * *

**PART EX-6: FUTURE PLAN**

* * *

**Hello, readers!**

**Be sure to check out the rest of the series! Soon, a new fic will be coming out! It'll be called 'The World Above!' Maybe a bit uncreative, but it's the best I could come up with :|**

**Either way, stay tuned!**


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